If It Would Work For Israel...

Boo Hoo Palestine

The latest from Pat Condell


Click here if the video fails to load.

The biggest political con trick in history, and we fall for it again
and again.

The Israeli Solution

The Israeli Solution is the new book scheduled to be released on March 4 by Carolyn Glick.  The following is written by Ms. Glick and explains parts of the book.

In its annual survey of American Jewry published last October, the American Jewish Committee found that 75 percent of American Jews agree with the statement, “The goal of the Arabs is not a peaceful two-state agreement with Israel, but rather the destruction of Israel.”

And yet, American Jews supported the establishment of a Palestinian state 50% to 47%.

Next week over 10,000 predominantly Jewish Americansupporters of Israel will gather in Washington at AIPAC’s annual policy conference. Given their high commitment to Israel, probably most of those gathered belong to the 47% of American Jews who opposed Palestinian statehood.

Yet at the conference they will embrace the two-state formula. And on March 4 they will go up to Capitol Hill and tell their representatives that they support it.

They will do so not because they are addled. They will do so because for the past 20 years all they have heard is that Israel has no alternative to the two-state plan.

Israel’s fervent and committed supporters at AIPAC have been told that Israel needs a Palestinian state more than the PLO does. Only by bringing such a state into existence in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem can Israel get the Palestinian demographic albatross off its neck.

These committed supporters of the Jewish state have been sternly lectured that Israel is doomed if it doesn’t give the Palestinians an outlet for their political impulses outside of Israel, because within a year or two there will be more Palestinians than Israelis west of the Jordan.

The same day AIPAC’s delegates meet with members of both houses of Congress, my new book, The Israeli Solution: A One-State Plan for Peace in the Middle East will be released by Crown Forum, a division of Random House.

In my book, I show that the demographic time bomb is a dud, and a malicious one at that.

In 1997, the head of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics Hassan Abu Libdeh told The New York Times that he was carrying out a census which would serve as a “civil intifada,” that is, as a statistical terror assault.

And he was right. The goal of terrorism is to force a target population to take actions it otherwise would not have taken. The goal of statistical warfare is to manipulate numbers to coerce a target society into taking actions that it would otherwise not take.

The Palestinian census claimed that by 2015, Arabs would be the majority west of the Jordan River. And once Jews were the minority, the Arabs could destroy Israel just by demanding the vote.

The Clinton administration, the US Jewish leadership and the Israeli Left rushed to embrace the findings, even though they were totally inconsistent with annual Palestinian population surveys the Israeli military government conducted from 1967 through 1996.

All crowed that true, the PLO still supports terrorism, but if Israel didn’t cough up the territories, it would be demographically overwhelmed.

It took seven years until an independent group of Israeli and American researchers studied the PLO data and exposed the fraud at their foundation. The American- Israeli Demographic Research Group showed that the Palestinian data inflated the Arab population by a whopping 50 percent.

The news for Israel has only gotten better in the intervening years. The Jewish fertility rate has increased as the Palestinian rates have collapsed along with those of the Muslim world as a whole. Israeli Jews now have higher fertility rates than the Arabs of Judea and Samaria, (3.04 vs. 2.91 children per woman). Israel’s immigration rate is high and rising. Palestinian emigration rates have skyrocketed over the past decade.

The demographic good news has percolated throughout Israeli society. And with the news, more and more Israeli politicians have come to favor applying Israeli law to all or parts of Judea and Samaria, just as Israel successfully applied its laws to united Jerusalem and the Golan Heights in the past.

Most Likud members of Knesset and all members of the Bayit Yehudi party support partial or full implementation of Israeli law in the areas. 59% of Israeli Jews support such action as well and support doing so unilaterally.

Indeed, even leftist Israelis support Israel’s unilateral application of its laws to parts of Judea and Samaria. For instance, former ambassador to the US Michael Oren supports the unilateral withdrawal from parts of Judea and Samaria. But Oren foresees the retention of the major Israeli settlement blocs under Israeli law. In the absence of a peace deal, such a step can only be taken through the unilateral application of Israeli law to those areas.

In the current Knesset session, members have submitted two bills calling for the application of Israeli law to the large Israeli population centers in Judea and Samaria and to the Jordan Valley, respectively.

But while all of this is going on in Israel, Israel’s supporters in the US remain in the dark about the existence of a better – facts based – alternative path for Israel.

In The Israeli Solution, I fill in the blanks that plague the American discourse on Israel and the Palestinians.

I provide a 360-degree analysis of a policy that I call The Israeli One-State Plan. That plan involves applying Israeli law – and through it Israeli sovereignty – throughout all of Judea and Samaria.

I divide the discussion into three parts. Part One provides the 90-year history of failure that has attended the two-state model, from the end of World War I through the present day. I also show how the US’s embrace of the two-state model has worked to blind US policymakers from both parties to the realities of the region and so guaranteed the failure of US Middle East policies.

Part Two presents the case for Israeli sovereignty from the perspectives of demography, international law, history and civil liberties.

Far from transforming the areas into a race-based state, as Israel’s opponents threaten, such a move by Israel will free the Palestinians from life under the PLO’s terror supporting kleptocracy and provide them with full civil and legal rights as permanent residents of Israel.

They will also have the right to apply for Israeli citizenship.

Even if all the Arabs of Judea and Samaria were to become Israeli citizens, Israel would retain a strong two thirds Jewish majority. And it would avert the only real demographic threat. That is the threat posed by a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria which would permit millions of hostile, foreign-born Arabs from Lebanon, Jordan and Syria to immigrate to its territory.

In Part Three, I discuss the probable responses of the Palestinians, the larger Arab world and the EU to a decision by Israel to apply its laws to Judea and Samaria and abandon the two-state policy model.

I also discuss how such a move will impact Israel and the United States.

Most delegates at AIPAC do not realize that Israelis have moved on from the failed two-state formula. It is my hope that in the year between this AIPAC conference and next year’s conference, they will read my book, and understand that they needn’t support the establishment of a Palestinian terror state. There is a better option. It is better for Israel. It is better for the Palestinians. And it is better for America.

If they do read my book, I hope it will open a long-belated discussion about Israel’s true options. If they do, I can assure them that next year’s AIPAC conference will be more realistic, and more optimistic than next week’s conclave.

SOURCE

I personally do not support the 2 state solution.  The Fakistinians don't want a separate nation.  They want Israel.  They have vowed to destroy Israel and murder every Jew in the world.  Yet our President demands that the Jews commit suicide to appease his Muslim masters.

I plan to purchase and read this book.  Then share the message with everyone.  I suggest all of you do so too.

First Judea And Samaria, Then The Old City, Now The Kotel.

With each passing day the PA adds a demand to their growing list of demands in order to have a 2-State Solution.  First it was the whole of Judea and Samaria, the old Law of Return, No buffer zone, the Jordan Valley, East Jerusalem, and now:  The Kotel.

A top Palestinian Authority official said that the PA was demanding sovereignty over all areas of Jerusalem Israel liberated in the Six Day War, including the Kotel (Western Wall).

Speaking to Channel Ten, Mahmoud al-Habbash, Minister of Holy Places in the PA, said that “there will be no peace until the end of the Israeli occupation that began in 1967. Every piece of land that Israel conquered then belongs to the Palestinians.” That includes Jerusalem, “the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Western Wall.”

Asked what would happen if Jews wished to pray at the Wall, al-Habbash said “they will be welcome, there will be no problem. There will be no limitations on freedom of religion and worship. Religious ceremonies are one thing, and politics are another.”

Under the Oslo Accords, Israelis are supposed to have access to several religious sites in PA-controlled areas of Judea and Samaria. In actuality, however, Jews are almost completely banned from these sites, including the Tomb of Joseph in Shechem and the Tomb of Joshua in Kifl Hares. Jews are rarely allowed to visit these sites, and then only under very strict security conditions. Several Jews, including Rabbi Hillel Lieberman h”yd, have been killed in area of Joseph's Tomb.

With that, Channel Ten quoted sources in the PA that most of the issues brought up in the negotiations being conducted by US Secretary of State John Kerry, including land swaps, have been resolved. But the Palestinians are insisting that all areas of Jerusalem liberated in the Six Day War, including the Jewish Quarter, the Kotel, and Jewish neighborhoods such as French Hill, Ramat Eshkol, and Har Homa be placed under PA sovereignty. Kerry has spent much time and effort in trying to come to a compromise on Jerusalem, but has so far failed, PA sources said.

Speaking to Channel Ten, the PA's Jerusalem Minister, Abu-Ala, said that the current round of negotiations was one of the most intense ever between Israel and the PA, thanks to the strenuous efforts of Kerry to get the two sides to agree to a negotiation framework.

But he said that effort came with a risk.

“Given the intensity with which the Americans are approaching this, there will probably be undesirable consequences if the talks fail.”

SOURCE

Giving John Kerry's desire for the Nobel Peace Prize I wouldn't put it pass him to add this to the list of demands he will try to push onto Israel.

I do believe it is time for Israel to leave the negotiations permanently.  They are getting nothing but a piece of paper for Obama to wave in the air crying:  "Peace in our lifetime!"  And Israel will get the shaft as the Fakistinians will use their newly formed nation to finish the job Hitler started in 1933.

The GOP Ends The Myth Of A 2-State Solution

Hat tip to Israel Matzav

For decades both parties have carried the banner of a 2-state solution to the problems of the Middle East.  And for decades Presidents of the United States have tried to force Israel into committing national suicide for the promise (not actual) of peace.  Each President has proposed many ideas for this to happen with the latest idea of Israel returning to the 1967 border and splitting Jerusalem into 2 parts coming from Barack Hussein Obama.

Finally the Republican Party (GOP) has decided that this idea isn't going to work and will not work.  They have proposed the following resolution to correct the mistakes in foreign policy that this nation has tried to impose on Israel.

AN RNC RESOLUTION TO COMMEND THE NATION OF ISRAEL FOR ITS RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

WHEREAS, Israel has been granted her lands under and through the oldest recorded deed as reported in the Old Testament, a tome of scripture held sacred and reverenced by Jew and Christian, alike, as the acts and words of G-d; and

WHEREAS, as the Grantor of said lands, G-d stated to the Jewish people in the Old Testament; in Leviticus, Chapter 20, Verse 24: “Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey”; and

WHEREAS, G-d has never rescinded his grant of said lands; and

WHEREAS, along with the grant of said lands to the Jewish people, G-d provided for the non-Jewish residents of the land in commanding that governance must be in one law for all without drawing distinction between Jewish and non-Jewish citizens, as contained in Leviticus 24:22, and

WHEREAS, the Nation of Israel declared its independent control and governance of said lands on May 14, 1948, with the goal of re-establishing their G-d-given lands as a homeland for the Jewish people; and

WHEREAS, the United States of America, having been the first country to recognize Israel as an independent nation and as Israel’s principal Mideast ally, has enjoyed a close and mutually beneficial relationship with Israel and her people; and

WHEREAS, indeed, Israel is the United States of America’s greatest friend in the Mideast; and

WHEREAS, the roots of Israel and the roots of the United States of America are so intertwined that it is difficult to separate one from the other under the word and protection of almighty G-d; and

WHEREAS, there are those in the Middle East who have sought to destroy Israel from its inception as anation; and

WHEREAS, those same enemies of Israel also seek to destroy the United States of America; and

WHEREAS, the United States of America and the nation of Israel have enjoyed cordial and mutually beneficial relations since 1948, a friendship that should continues to strengthen with each passing year.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the Republican Nation Committee that the committee by this resolution commends the nation of Israel for its relations with the United States of America.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the members of this body support Israel in their natural and G-d-given right of self-governance and self-defense upon their own lands, recognizing that Israel is neither an attacking force nor an occupier of the lands of others; and that peace can be afforded the region only through a united Israel governed under one law for all people.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate Leadership and each of the legislatures of the states within the United States of America with the request and recommendation of this body that a similar resolution to that stated herein be proposed within their respective bodies.

Sponsor–Cindy Costa National Committeewoman South Carolina

It is for this reason that I will be voting for the GOP candidate (who ever he is, except Ron Paul) and that this nation will finally have a foreign policy not based on Alice in Wonderland but based in reality.

Debunking the Palestine Lie

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has launched an international campaign to achieve recognition by the United Nations for an independent Palestinian state. Abbas and his international supporters claim that only Israel (with the United States) stands in the way of this act of historical justice, which would finally bring about peace in the Middle East.

This video debunks the Palestinians' claim and shows that Abbas has been lying about the origins and history of the conflict. Palestinian leaders have rejected partition plans that would have given them much more land for their independent state than the Jews were offered for theirs. Rather than being the innocent victims of a "dispossession" at the hands of the Israelis, the Palestinians rejected reasonable compromises and instead pursued their aim of getting rid of the only Jewish state in the world.

Actually if you look at Barack Hussein Obama's past you will see a staunch anti-Semite who changed overnight to gain the Jewish vote.  But make no mistake, he will destroy Israel himself if given the change (or a second term).

There has never been a Palestine, a Palestinian people, an viable nation run by the Arabs.  In fact, without foreign aid the Fakistinians have no economy.

The world doesn't need another Welfare Basket State.  A nation with no economy, no ability to start an economy and dependent on the world (especially the United States) for their income.

From the river to the sea, Israel will remain free!

Another Thing That A 2-State Solution Will Bring

Got to love US Foreign Policy under Barack Hussein Obama.  Not only do you try to throw an ally under the bus, but you support your ally's enemy's wish to destroy your holy site.  In this case the Western Wall (Kotel).

The Palestinian Authority plans to build an Arab housing complex on Judaism's holiest site if ever it gains control of Jerusalem, according to a documentary translated by the Palestinian Media Watch (PMW).

A video clip from an official Palestinian Authority TV documentary broadcast August 10, 2011 on the Fatah-controlled television network from Ramallah stated that the construction would come as part of the PA's plan to erase the Jewish presence from Jerusalem.

"They [Israelis] know for certain that our roots are deeper than their false history," the documentary stated in Arabic.

"We, from the balcony of our home, look out over [Islamic] holiness and on sin and filth (Jews' praying at the Western Wall) in an area that used to have [Arab] people and homes.

"We are drawing our new maps," the program continued. "When they [Israelis] disappear from the picture, like a forgotten chapter in the pages of our city's history, we will build it anew.

"The Mughrabi Quarter will be built here (on the Western Wall Plaza)."

Source

For the record:  There are numerous sources throughout history of the presence of Jews in Jerusalem and Israel.  These sources are not Jewish but Greek, Egyptian, Roman, Turkish, British, French, etc...  There are no sources in the historical record that Muhammad (May His Name Be Forgotten) ever visited Jerusalem, on a magical jackass or not.

Destroy the plaza?  I think not.  But Israel could do this very easily:

 

Without the eyesore, Jerusalem looks 100% better!

Flip-Flopping Away!

Barack Hussein Obama is a master of the flip-flop.  He was a master of the flip-flop during the 2008 Presidential Campaign, and now he is trying to do the same.  This time on his attempt to force Israel into accepting a settlement with the Arabs that would guarantee another Holocaust would occur.

US President Barack Obama acknowledged Tuesday that no matter how much pressure America applies to the parties in the Middle East conflict, peace may not be achieved.

He also said that the US cannot “impose solutions” in all conflicts and urged Israel and other non-signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to join, during a press conference capping the two-day Nuclear Security Summit he convened.

Speaking of Middle East peace, Obama said that “even if we apply all our political capital to that issue, the Israeli people through their government and the Palestinian people through the Palestinian Authority as well as other Arab states may say to themselves, we are not prepared to resolve these issues no matter how much pressure the United States brings to bear.”

He added, “The truth is that in some of these conflicts, the United States cannot impose solutions, unless the participants in these conflicts are willing to break out of old patterns of antagonism.”

Quoting former US secretary of state James Baker, who served under George H.W. Bush, Obama said, “We can’t want it more than they do.”

But he continued by saying that he would keep on trying even though progress would “take time,” stressing that “what we can make sure is that we are constantly present, constantly engaged.”

Read the full story here.

I wonder what has caused this latest flip-flop?   Could it have been Ed Koch's letter to the Jewish community as his Mea Culpa, or did someone finally convinced him that his popularity among American Jews is dropping faster than stone in water, or was it the letter from 76 Senators (36 of them Democrats) that was sent to Secretary Clinton?  Or is it something else?

President Obama has flip-flopped in the past on the issue of Israel. He has kow-towed to every demand the Arabs have made to him while trying to force Netanyahu to give every Jewish Heritage Site to those who would destroy them (As they did when they controlled the sites  in the years between 1949 and 1967.).

Obama's great plan is nothing more than the Saudi Plan, an idea rejected by Israel over and over again.

For all his flip-flopping Obama this time is lying.  For his foreign policy to be considered a winning one (And the justification of his Nobel Peace Prize.), Obama will have to force the Saudi Plan on the Israelis, or lose all honor.

And it looks like he will use military force to do it.

Prayers For Peace, Rockets, And A New Daycare Center.

This month has been busy for the residents of Sderot (pronounced:  STAY'rot).  Let us start with this bit of optimism.

Sderot, Israel (31.12.09): Hours before the new year, as hundreds of pro-Palestinian and Arab demonstrators gathered at the Erez Crossing chanting "Katyushas on Ma'alot, Qassams on Sderot," while Israeli demonstrators at another Gaza viewpoint a few meters away gathered together to communicate a very different message.

A group of Israelis singing songs of peace versus a group of Arabs calling for the bombing of these people.  And the idiots on the left (especially the ones in the White House, Speaker's Office and the Senate Majority Leader) all have concluded that Israelis don't want peace, only Arabs do.

And black is white, good is bad, up is down.  Nothing to see here folks...just move along.

That was the optimism.  Now for the news:

Worst Rocket Escalation to Strike Israel Since Operation Cast Lead

by Anav Silverman

Since Operation Cast Lead, over 306 rockets have been fired from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. On Sunday, January 10, Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu told cabinet ministers that he regarded the recent escalation of rocket attacks very seriously.

Rocket attack in Sderot. (Photo: Hamutal Ben Shitrit/Sderot Media Center)

"Last week 20 rockets and mortar rounds were fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. The Government's policy is clear: Any firing at our territory will be responded to strongly and immediately."

Both Netivot and Ashkelon were hit by Grad rockets in the recent rocket escalation. On New Years' eve, two Russian-made Grad artillery rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip and struck Israel, with one hitting the southern town of Netivot, a city of about 26,000.

The Color Red system did not go off at the time of attack, and Netivot residents had no warning of the incoming rocket attack. No damages were reported but one woman suffered shock.

The last Grad rocket to strike Netivot had exploded near a synagogue nine months ago, causing heavy damage to the building.

A week later, on Thursday, January 7, a Grad-type Katyusha rocket fired from the Gaza Strip struck a field south of Ashkelon, causing no damage or injuries. Air sirens, however, did sound, sending Ashkelon residents into panic.

Ashkelon, a coastal city with over 100,000 residents, has been a target of Palestinian-fired Katyusha rockets for nearly four years.

Since the start of 2010, tens of Iranian-supplied mortar rockets have also hit southern Israel. Terrorists also fired an anti-tank missile at IDF troops on the Gaza border.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC) claimed responsibility for the recent firing of the rockets.

Hamas boasted on Friday Jan. 8, that it had managed to smuggle new types of weapons into the Gaza Strip. Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, published photographs on its website of the new weapons. The weapons include missiles with a double warhead, 107-mm caliber missiles that are designed to penetrate fortified structures and a new type of armor piercing RPG missile.

Abu Ubeida, the Hamas spokesman stated that the group "has thousands of fighters and good weapons capable of harming Israel."

Former OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Yom Tov Samia predicted on Sunday that another war with Hamas was inevitable.

"We are before another round in Gaza," Samia told Army Radio in an interview.

"I am very skeptical about the possibility that Hamas will suddenly surrender or change its ways without being hit much more seriously than it was during Cast Lead."

Will someone please explain the meaning of the word CEASE-FIRE to Hamas!  In a cease-fire both side stop shooting at each other.  If one side starts shooting again, then the cease-fire is over, battle begins anew.

Now for a little good news:

A new rocket-proof daycare center was inaugurated in the southern city of Sderot on December 27. The money for the furniture, equipment, and toys was donated by 13 year-old Thomas Cole of Toronto on the occasion of his Bar Mitzvah.

United Israel Appeal of Canada’s website reported that the dedication ceremony was attended by 35 members of Cole’s family, including his parents and grandparents, as well as by Sderot Mayor David Buskila, who unveiled a plaque of recognition and affixed the mezuzah together with Thomas.

The daycare center was built to withstand rocket attacks and contains three classrooms. It will serve approximately 45 infants ranging in age from three months to four years. The center will specifically serve the Reut community, a group of 150 young families who have made Sderot their home over the last decade.

Eran Shmueli-David, director of UIAC’s Israel Emergency Campaign, said that “this gift was implemented thanks to the tireless efforts of Eddy Azran, UIAC’s local coordinator in Sderot. It was his persistence and determination that pressed the municipality to open the new building as soon as construction was completed.”

Thomas Cole personally chose to dedicate the money to the Sderot Daycare Centre out of several options given to him by the B’nei Tzedek program of UJA Federation.

Read the full story here.

Young Thomas Cole of Toronto not only is on his way in life to becoming a man of good character, but has shown to the world the true meaning of becoming a man.  The unselfish giving unto others.  In Master Cole's case, his generosity will help many children to have a better life.

His parents MUST be busting at the seams with pride.

You can HELP too.  It isn't hard.  Just a few dollars can and does go a long way.  Just click here and follow the instructions.  Your donation to the Sderot Media Center will help the people of Sderot and the Western Negev.  People who have been under rocket attack for the last 9 years.

The Children of Sderot sent out messages of peace and hope.
The Children of Gaza send out rockets to destroy them.

Yet Hamas screams bloody murder whenever the Israelis strike back at them.

Not this time.

The time is coming when the people of Israel will have had enough.  When they will attack in retaliation, and not stop until Hamas is fully destroyed.  This next time nothing will be able to stop the IDF from achieving their directive.  Not the UN, not the EU, and definitely not Barack Hussein Obama.  Let Hamas and their anti-Semitic allies on the left cry all they want.  They will cry, scream, and throw a temper tantrum like they did last year.  But things are different now.  Europe is fed up with their antics.  The US isn't buying their lies.  And there will be elections this year.  Now Hamas will have to contend with that.

And the Children of Sderot truly might have a peaceful childhood.

Middle East News Round-Up 2

Just some articles I have found showing the last 24 hours.

Former Foreign MinisterLivini has been indicted by a British Court for Operation Cast Lead.  Thus the Dhimmitude of Great Britain is coming along smoothly.

Hebrew University Disease Center is to receive $5 million for research into Black Fever.  The grant is from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Dutch Officials studying Ahava products to see if they are produced on "stolen Arab lands".  I wonder if they are also checking to see if any US products are made on stolen Indian lands.

Russian commercial liner nearly crashed at Ben-Gurion airport.  Mistook the highway for the runway.  Pilot must have been trained by Northwest Airlines.

Global Anti-Semitism ‘Alive and Kicking’. Good news for those neo-Nazis, Louis Farrakhan, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, Jeremiah Wright, David Duke, Cynthia McKinney, and the entire Muslim world.

Iran says it successfully test-fired upgraded Sajjil-2 missile. Iran said it has successfully tested an upgraded version of its longest-range solid-fuel missile, according to a State TV report on Wednesday, without providing details on the test of the Sajjil-2 missile. The last time Iran claimed to have had a successful launch, this was the result:

The PA will not sit down at the negotiating table unless Israel gives them the 67 borders including the Kotel.  It is time for Bibi to immediately end the "freeze" and give Abbas and the rest of the Arabs 48 hours to get their asses off of Jewish land.  As of yesterday Oslo, The Peace Process and the 2-state solution is dead!!

President Obama is demanding that 1701 be enforced.  Just don't ask him for any troops to do it.  They are busy elsewhere.

That's the news folks!  Have a good day!

The Full Text of Netanyahu’s Speech

Honored guests, citizens of Israel.

Peace has always been our people’s most ardent desire. Our prophets gave the world the vision of peace, we greet one another with wishes of peace, and our prayers conclude with the word peace.

We are gathered this evening in an institution named for two pioneers of peace, Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat, and we share in their vision.

Two and half months ago, I took the oath of office as the Prime Minister of Israel. I pledged to establish a national unity government – and I did. I believed and I still believe that unity was essential for us now more than ever as we face three immense challenges – the Iranian threat, the economic crisis, and the advancement of peace.

The Iranian threat looms large before us, as was further demonstrated yesterday. The greatest danger confronting Israel, the Middle East, the entire world and human race, is the nexus between radical Islam and nuclear weapons. I discussed this issue with President Obama during my recent visit to Washington, and I will raise it again in my meetings next week with European leaders. For years, I have been working tirelessly to forge an international alliance to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

Confronting a global economic crisis, the government acted swiftly to stabilize Israel’s economy. We passed a two year budget in the government – and the Knesset will soon approve it.

And the third challenge, so exceedingly important, is the advancement of peace. I also spoke about this with President Obama, and I fully support the idea of a regional peace that he is leading.
I share the President’s desire to bring about a new era of reconciliation in our region. To this end, I met with President Mubarak in Egypt, and King Abdullah in Jordan, to elicit the support of these leaders in expanding the circle of peace in our region.

I turn to all Arab leaders tonight and I say: “Let us meet. Let us speak of peace and let us make peace. I am ready to meet with you at any time. I am willing to go to Damascus, to Riyadh, to Beirut, to any place- including Jerusalem.
I call on the Arab countries to cooperate with the Palestinians and with us to advance an economic peace. An economic peace is not a substitute for a political peace, but an important element to achieving it. Together, we can undertake projects to overcome the scarcities of our region, like water desalination or to maximize its advantages, like developing solar energy, or laying gas and petroleum lines, and transportation links between Asia, Africa and Europe.

The economic success of the Gulf States has impressed us all and it has impressed me. I call on the talented entrepreneurs of the Arab world to come and invest here and to assist the Palestinians – and us – in spurring the economy.

Together, we can develop industrial areas that will generate thousands of jobs and create tourist sites that will attract millions of visitors eager to walk in the footsteps of history – in Nazareth and in Bethlehem, around the walls of Jericho and the walls of Jerusalem, on the banks of the Sea of Galilee and the baptismal site of the Jordan.
There is an enormous potential for archeological tourism, if we can only learn to cooperate and to develop it.

I turn to you, our Palestinian neighbors, led by the Palestinian Authority, and I say: Let’s begin negotiations immediately without preconditions.
Israel is obligated by its international commitments and expects all parties to keep their commitments.

We want to live with you in peace, as good neighbors. We want our children and your children to never again experience war: that parents, brothers and sisters will never again know the agony of losing loved ones in battle; that our children will be able to dream of a better future and realize that dream; and that together we will invest our energies in plowshares and pruning hooks, not swords and spears.

I know the face of war. I have experienced battle. I lost close friends, I lost a brother. I have seen the pain of bereaved families. I do not want war. No one in Israel wants war.

If we join hands and work together for peace, there is no limit to the development and prosperity we can achieve for our two peoples – in the economy, agriculture, trade, tourism and education - most importantly, in providing our youth a better world in which to live, a life full of tranquility, creativity, opportunity and hope.

If the advantages of peace are so evident, we must ask ourselves why peace remains so remote, even as our hand remains outstretched to peace? Why has this conflict continued for more than sixty years?

In order to bring an end to the conflict, we must give an honest and forthright answer to the question: What is the root of the conflict?

In his speech to the first Zionist Conference in Basel, the founder of the Zionist movement, Theodore Herzl, said about the Jewish national home “This idea is so big that we must speak of it only in the simplest terms.” Today, I will speak about the immense challenge of peace in the simplest words possible.

Even as we look toward the horizon, we must be firmly connected to reality, to the truth. And the simple truth is that the root of the conflict was, and remains, the refusal to recognize the right of the Jewish people to a state of their own, in their historic homeland.

In 1947, when the United Nations proposed the partition plan of a Jewish state and an Arab state, the entire Arab world rejected the resolution. The Jewish community, by contrast, welcomed it by dancing and rejoicing.

The Arabs rejected any Jewish state, in any borders.

Those who think that the continued enmity toward Israel is a product of our presence in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, is confusing cause and consequence.

The attacks against us began in the 1920s, escalated into a comprehensive attack in 1948 with the declaration of Israel’s independence, continued with the fedayeen attacks in the 1950s, and climaxed in 1967, on the eve of the six-day war, in an attempt to tighten a noose around the neck of the State of Israel.

All this occurred during the fifty years before a single Israeli soldier ever set foot in Judea and Samaria .

Fortunately, Egypt and Jordan left this circle of enmity. The signing of peace treaties have brought about an end to their claims against Israel, an end to the conflict. But to our regret, this is not the case with the Palestinians. The closer we get to an agreement with them, the further they retreat and raise demands that are inconsistent with a true desire to end the conflict.

Many good people have told us that withdrawal from territories is the key to peace with the Palestinians. Well, we withdrew. But the fact is that every withdrawal was met with massive waves of terror, by suicide bombers and thousands of missiles.

We tried to withdraw with an agreement and without an agreement. We tried a partial withdrawal and a full withdrawal. In 2000 and again last year, Israel proposed an almost total withdrawal in exchange for an end to the conflict, and twice our offers were rejected.

We evacuated every last inch of the Gaza strip, we uprooted tens of settlements and evicted thousands of Israelis from their homes, and in response, we received a hail of missiles on our cities, towns and children.

The claim that territorial withdrawals will bring peace with the Palestinians, or at least advance peace, has up till now not stood the test of reality.

In addition to this, Hamas in the south, like Hezbollah in the north, repeatedly proclaims their commitment to “liberate” the Israeli cities of Ashkelon, Beersheba, Acre and Haifa.
Territorial withdrawals have not lessened the hatred, and to our regret, Palestinian moderates are not yet ready to say the simple words: Israel is the nation-state of the Jewish people, and it will stay that way.

Achieving peace will require courage and candor from both sides, and not only from the Israeli side.
The Palestinian leadership must arise and say: “Enough of this conflict. We recognize the right of the Jewish people to a state of their own in this land, and we are prepared to live beside you in true peace.”
I am yearning for that moment, for when Palestinian leaders say those words to our people and to their people, then a path will be opened to resolving all the problems between our peoples, no matter how complex they may be.

Therefore, a fundamental prerequisite for ending the conflict is a public, binding and unequivocal Palestinian recognition of Israel as the nation state of the Jewish people.
To vest this declaration with practical meaning, there must also be a clear understanding that the Palestinian refugee problem will be resolved outside Israel’s borders. For it is clear that any demand for resettling Palestinian refugees within Israel undermines Israel’s continued existence as the state of the Jewish people.

The Palestinian refugee problem must be solved, and it can be solved, as we ourselves proved in a similar situation. Tiny Israel successfully absorbed tens of thousands of Jewish refugees who left their homes and belongings in Arab countries.
Therefore, justice and logic demand that the Palestinian refugee problem be solved outside Israel’s borders. On this point, there is a broad national consensus. I believe that with goodwill and international investment, this humanitarian problem can be permanently resolved.

So far I have spoken about the need for Palestinians to recognize our rights. In am moment, I will speak openly about our need to recognize their rights.
But let me first say that the connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel has lasted for more than 3500 years. Judea and Samaria, the places where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, David and Solomon, and Isaiah and Jeremiah lived, are not alien to us. This is the land of our forefathers.

The right of the Jewish people to a state in the land of Israel does not derive from the catastrophes that have plagued our people. True, for 2000 years the Jewish people suffered expulsions, pogroms, blood libels, and massacres which culminated in a Holocaust - a suffering which has no parallel in human history.
There are those who say that if the Holocaust had not occurred, the state of Israel would never have been established. But I say that if the state of Israel would have been established earlier, the Holocaust would not have occured.
This tragic history of powerlessness explains why the Jewish people need a sovereign power of self-defense.
But our right to build our sovereign state here, in the land of Israel, arises from one simple fact: this is the homeland of the Jewish people, this is where our identity was forged.
As Israel’s first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion proclaimed in Israel’s Declaration of Independence: “The Jewish people arose in the land of Israel and it was here that its spiritual, religious and political character was shaped. Here they attained their sovereignty, and here they bequeathed to the world their national and cultural treasures, and the most eternal of books.”

But we must also tell the truth in its entirety: within this homeland lives a large Palestinian community. We do not want to rule over them, we do not want to govern their lives, we do not want to impose either our flag or our culture on them.

In my vision of peace, in this small land of ours, two peoples live freely, side-by-side, in amity and mutual respect. Each will have its own flag, its own national anthem, its own government. Neither will threaten the security or survival of the other.

These two realities – our connection to the land of Israel, and the Palestinian population living within it – have created deep divisions in Israeli society. But the truth is that we have much more that unites us than divides us.
I have come tonight to give expression to that unity, and to the principles of peace and security on which there is broad agreement within Israeli society. These are the principles that guide our policy.

This policy must take into account the international situation that has recently developed. We must recognize this reality and at the same time stand firmly on those principles essential for Israel.
I have already stressed the first principle – recognition. Palestinians must clearly and unambiguously recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people. The second principle is: demilitarization. The territory under Palestinian control must be demilitarized with ironclad security provisions for Israel.
Without these two conditions, there is a real danger that an armed Palestinian state would emerge that would become another terrorist base against the Jewish state, such as the one in Gaza.
We don’t want Kassam rockets on Petach Tikva, Grad rockets on Tel Aviv, or missiles on Ben-Gurion airport. We want peace.

In order to achieve peace, we must ensure that Palestinians will not be able to import missiles into their territory, to field an army, to close their airspace to us, or to make pacts with the likes of Hezbollah and Iran. On this point as well, there is wide consensus within Israel.

It is impossible to expect us to agree in advance to the principle of a Palestinian state without assurances that this state will be demilitarized.

On a matter so critical to the existence of Israel, we must first have our security needs addressed.

Therefore, today we ask our friends in the international community, led by the United States, for what is critical to the security of Israel: Clear commitments that in a future peace agreement, the territory controlled by the Palestinians will be demilitarized: namely, without an army, without control of its airspace, and with effective security measures to prevent weapons smuggling into the territory – real monitoring, and not what occurs in Gaza today. And obviously, the Palestinians will not be able to forge military pacts.

Without this, sooner or later, these territories will become another Hamastan. And that we cannot accept.

I told President Obama when I was in Washington that if we could agree on the substance, then the terminology would not pose a problem.

And here is the substance that I now state clearly:

If we receive this guarantee regarding demilitirization and Israel’s security needs, and if the Palestinians recognize Israel as the State of the Jewish people, then we will be ready in a future peace agreement to reach a solution where a demilitarized Palestinian state exists alongside the Jewish state.

Regarding the remaining important issues that will be discussed as part of the final settlement, my positions are known: Israel needs defensible borders, and Jerusalem must remain the united capital of Israel with continued religious freedom for all faiths.

The territorial question will be discussed as part of the final peace agreement. In the meantime, we have no intention of building new settlements or of expropriating additional land for existing settlements.

But there is a need to enable the residents to live normal lives, to allow mothers and fathers to raise their children like families elsewhere. The settlers are neither the enemies of the people nor the enemies of peace. Rather, they are an integral part of our people, a principled, pioneering and Zionist public.

Unity among us is essential and will help us achieve reconciliation with our neighbors. That reconciliation must already begin by altering existing realities. I believe that a strong Palestinian economy will strengthen peace.

If the Palestinians turn toward peace – in fighting terror, in strengthening governance and the rule of law, in educating their children for peace and in stopping incitement against Israel - we will do our part in making every effort to facilitate freedom of movement and access, and to enable them to develop their economy. All of this will help us advance a peace treaty between us.

Above all else, the Palestinians must decide between the path of peace and the path of Hamas. The Palestinian Authority will have to establish the rule of law in Gaza and overcome Hamas. Israel will not sit at the negotiating table with terrorists who seek their destruction.
Hamas will not even allow the Red Cross to visit our kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit, who has spent three years in captivity, cut off from his parents, his family and his people. We are committed to bringing him home, healthy and safe.

With a Palestinian leadership committed to peace, with the active participation of the Arab world, and the support of the United States and the international community, there is no reason why we cannot achieve a breakthrough to peace.

Our people have already proven that we can do the impossible. Over the past 61 years, while constantly defending our existence, we have performed wonders.
Our microchips are powering the world’s computers. Our medicines are treating diseases once considered incurable. Our drip irrigation is bringing arid lands back to life across the globe. And Israeli scientists are expanding the boundaries of human knowledge.
If only our neighbors would respond to our call – peace too will be in our reach.

I call on the leaders of the Arab world and on the Palestinian leadership, let us continue together on the path of Menahem Begin and Anwar Sadat, Yitzhak Rabin and King Hussein. Let us realize the vision of the prophet Isaiah, who in Jerusalem 2700 years ago said: “nations shall not lift up sword against nation, and they shall learn war no more.”

With God’s help, we will know no more war. We will know peace.

A Simple Question

Courtesy of DryBones:



Now this is a very simple question. Why are the Palestinians forcing Jews out of their land, in effect creating a Jew-Free State, Judenfrei (Ethnic Cleansing) and the Israelis have to keep their Arab population? And why is the world letting them get away with it?

Could you imagine the uproar if Israel did that to her Muslim population. The world would be condemning Israel until the cows came home.

But the Muslim world is demanding that all Jews be removed from the West Bank and Jerusalem. Yes Jerusalem! Jerusalem was a Jewish city before there ever was a Mecca, before Jesus walked the land, before Muhammad was even born, before the Romans conquered Italy. There has been Jews living in Jerusalem for over 3500 years.

This is unacceptable! If Israel has to resettle Jews out of the West Bank, then all Muslims living in Israel must be resettled into the West Bank.

If Palestine is to be Judenfrei, than Israel should be free of Muslims.

Jordan, West Bank Should Become a Palestinian State

From Memri

Lebanese Writer Farid Salman: Jordan, West Bank Should Become a Palestinian State, Which Will Absorb the Refugees

Following are excerpts from an interview with Lebanese writer Farid Salman, which aired on OTV on May 6, 2009.

View the clip here.

"Jordan is An Invention... I Don't Know Whether to Laugh or Cry When I Hear a Jordanian Say That He is Jordanian... He Has Forgotten That He's Palestinian"

Farid Salman: "Jordan is an invention. Transjordan, which was an emirate, and later became the Hashemite Kingdom, is part of Palestine. Britain created it in order to crown one of the sons of Hussein, from the Arabian Peninsula, over part of Greater Syria - over Palestine. This continues to be the perpetual reason... Without removing it, the Palestinian issue will not be resolved. It's impossible."

Interviewer: "Some people in Israel talk about the Jordanian option..."

Farid Salman: "They are right."

Interviewer: "In the days of Abba Eban..."

Farid Salman: "We missed an opportunity with Abba Eban."

Interviewer: "This is why the Black September battles of 1969 and 1970 took place, and the crisis was shifted here, to Lebanon. But King Hussein stabilized his throne..."

Farid Salman: "It wasn't him. The English stabilized the throne. Glubb Pasha did it for his grandfather, and the English continue to do so to this day. The Israelis also [stabilized the Jordanian rule]. The Zionist regime in Israel is against peace. It doesn't want peace.

"Abba Eban was one of the most important people in Israel, but we did not know how to benefit from him, and eventually the Zionists got rid of him. They sent him to teach in America, thus removing him from the scene. He could see the truth.

"Today, I don't know whether to laugh or cry when I hear a Jordanian say that he is a Jordanian, and that there are Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan. He has forgotten that he is a Palestinian. What do you mean 'Jordanian?' The East Bank is just like the West Bank. The Jordanian king was behind the war in Lebanon. He sent the Palestinians to Lebanon. We must not forget the role that Jordan played in Lebanon." [...]

The Anti-Zionist "Jewdanians... Have Now Gained Power, Along With Obama"

"With regard to Israel, I am very optimistic. For 40 years, I have been writing about this issue - about Zionism and about the people I call 'the Jewdanians' - that group of Jews around the world who are against the Zionist philosophy and state. They have now gained power, along with Obama. They began..."

Interviewer: "With the plan of the first Bush..."

Farid Salman: "In Madrid..."

Interviewer: "Yes."

Farid Salman: "They are the ones who brought Obama to power. They supported him financially. A few weeks ago, they announced that they were establishing a lobby. Until now, they operated behind the scenes, but now it is out in the open. An existential Israeli crisis has emerged among the Jews themselves - between the Zionists and the non-Zionists. The Zionists in power today - Lieberman and Netanyahu - no peace plan can possibly emerge from them. They will bring about a Jewish crisis in Israel and worldwide, and I believe they will be the losers. If they do not lose, that will be the end of the Zionist regime in Israel."

"When A Palestinian State Is Established, And Jordan Becomes The Palestinian State, Along With The West Bank... It Will Invite The Palestinians"

Interviewer: "That is the solution, in your view?"

Farid Salman: "Of course. When this happens, we won't need Israeli approval for the resettlement

Interviewer: "Can the Jewdanians, who support Obama, realize what the solution is, and grant the Palestinians the Right of Return?"

Farid Salman: "We have turned the Right of Return into a casus belli... Let me tell you something - when a Palestinian state is established, and Jordan becomes the Palestinian state, along with the West Bank..."

Interviewer: "That is the solution, in your view?"

Farid Salman: "Of course. When this happens, we won't need Israeli approval for the resettlement... Once there is a Palestinian state, it will invite the Palestinians. Jordan can receive 30 million [Palestinians]. In New York alone, there are 20 million people."

Interviewer: "Do you think that we are at the beginning of a process of the collapse of regimes in the region?"

Farid Salman: "Of course."

Interviewer: "Like dominoes, one will lead to the toppling of the other?"

"There is a Plan to Increase the Number of Sunnis by Resettling the Palestinians in Lebanon"

Farid Salman: "Undoubtedly. There is no other solution for the Middle East. Who invented the story of refugee resettlement in Lebanon? Let's be clear - the Sunnis. Al-Hariri did, and his sister continues in his path. The Palestinian ambassador in Lebanon is their accomplice."

Interviewer: "Abbas Zaki?"

Salman: "Him, along with Fuad Siniora. There is a plan to increase the number of Sunnis by resettling the Palestinians in Lebanon. They are the ones talking about resettlement. The day the Palestinian issue is resolved, and they have a state - in Jordan, the West Bank, wherever it may be..."

Interviewer: "Arafat used to say: 'Give me a state even on the back of a donkey.'"

Farid Salman: "Wherever it may be... Half a million Palestinian in Lebanon will go to their state. End of story. We won't be needing the approval of Israel or the world. It will be their state, and they will be invited there. End of story."

For those of you who don't know your history or who some of the people mentioned are, I'll explain:

Jordan as a nation never truly existed in ancient history. There is mention of a Kingdom of Petra, the region that is now Jordan has been conquered by the the Persian Empire, the Seleucids, the Romans , and Muslim Arabs. So in ancient times no nation called Jordan ever existed. Nor did it exist until April 11, 1921 when Great Britain decided to reward their "good friend" Emir Abdullah with 78% of the Palestinian Mandate (that was reserved by the League of Nations for a homeland for Jews). Thus Jordan, or as it was called then, Trans-Jordan was born.

It was after the 6-Day War, when Israel finally regained control of the West Bank that Trans-Jordan became simply Jordan.

Thus in fact, Jordan is the true Palestinian nation.

Black September was an attempt by the PLO (headed by Yassir Arafat) to overthrow the government of Jordan and replace it with the PLO. The Jordanian military thwarted the attempted overthrow and assassination of King Hussein, and the Jordanian government kicked out removed the PLO and their supporters from Jordan. They fled to the only nation which would give them sanctuary: Lebanon.

Abba Eban was an Israeli statesman. Born in Cape Town, South Africa on February 2, 1915. a graduate of Queens College, Cambridge, he was Israel's first ambassador to the United Nations and was elected Vice President of the UN General Assembly in 1952. He is considered one of the fathers of modern Israel, and a giant in diplomatic circles. He set the tone for Israel's diplomatic efforts for the last 63 years. He died on November 17, 2002.

A bit of history. But the reality is that the 2 State Solution that is being touted by the EU, UN and the US is looking like a pipe(bomb) dream each and every day. The Palestinians do not want it, they want all the land from the river to the sea as the Hamas and PLO charters both specify. And now it is not just the far right who are opposing the 2 State Solution, it is the mainstream Israelis who oppose it too:

Minister of Strategic Affairs Moshe (Boogie) Yaalon believes that the time has come for Israel to “free itself from the failed paradigm” of the “two-state solution.” Yaalon spoke Tuesday at a meeting of MKs dedicated to finding an alternative to the creation of a Palestinian Authority-led Arab state.

While the creation of a PA-led state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza is perceived as a necessity both in Israel and worldwide, such a state would not solve the Israel-PA conflict, said Yaalon. In fact, he said, it is doubtful that the possibility of creating such a state exists, due to Arab and Muslim reluctance to take any step that would imply recognition of Israel or compromise on Arab claims to the entire Land of Israel.

Israel's mistake lies in accepting a-symmetrical talks with the PA, Yaalon said. From the beginning of talks, he explained, Israel has accepted the idea of a Palestinian national movement with the PA as its representative, while the PA has resolutely refused to accept the Jewish national movement of Zionism or the idea of a Jewish homeland in the land of Israel.

Furthermore, while the PA demands that Arabs and Muslims be allowed to live in Israel, Israel accepts that a PA state would not have Jewish citizens, he said. And while Israel gives in on crucial issues such as the status of Jerusalem or the borders of a PA state, the PA refuses to bend in the slightest.

Read the full story here.

No proposal that Netanyahu would bring to the negotiating table will ever satisfy the Palestinians, and no proposal that they bring would be allowed by any Israeli Knesset. Thus the region is at a stalemate, and this time President Obama will not be able to charm Netanyahu or the Israelis into making a deal that would effectively destroy their nation.

The time has come to recognize and remember the true history of the region, and sent the PA, Hamas and the rest of the Palestinians back to the two-thirds of the Palestinian Mandate, back to Jordan, the real state of Palestine!

Do the Palestinians Really Want a State?

I am positive that the average Palestinian man or woman would take any decent agreement giving them their own nation and working in peaceful cooperation with their Israeli neighbors, create a Paradise on Earth. Most Palestinians work or have worked in Israel, many would be friendly with Israelis if they could (the extremists in Gaza and the West Bank kill such people, calling them traitors and collaborators.). There is a deep desire for peace among them.

The Palestinian Authority on the other hand may have no desire for a settlement to the stalemate that has boxed both sides into positions they cannot retreat from.

This is the premise that Robert D. Kaplan puts forward in this month's Atlantic Monthly.

The statelessness of Palestinian Arabs has been a principal feature of world politics for more than half a century. It is the signature issue of our time. The inability of Israelis and Palestinians to reach an accord of mutual recognition and land-for-peace has helped infect the globe with violence and radicalism—and has long been a bane of American foreign policy. While the problems of the Middle East cannot be substantially blamed on the injustice done to Palestinians, that injustice has nonetheless played a role in weakening America’s position in the region.

Obviously, part of the problem has been Israeli intransigence. Despite seeming to submit to territorial concessions, one Israeli government after another has quietly continued to bolster illegal settlements in the occupied territories.

With Fatah and Hamas facing off against each other, the Palestinians are simply too divided to plausibly meet Israel across the table. And because the Palestinians are unable to cut a deal, a majority of Israelis, as shown by the recent election results, have apparently given up any hope for peace.

But there is a deeper structural and philosophical reason why the Palestinians remain stateless—a reason more profound than the political narrative would indicate. It is best explained by associate Johns Hopkins professor Jakub Grygiel, in his brilliant essay, “The Power of Statelessness: the Withering Appeal of Governing” (Policy Review April/May 2009). In it, Grygiel does not discuss the Palestinians in particular, but rather the attitude of stateless people in general.

Statehood is no longer a goal, he writes. Many stateless groups “do not aspire to have a state,” for they are more capable of achieving their objectives without one. Instead of actively seeking statehood to address their weakness, as Zionist Jews did in an earlier phase of history, groups like the Palestinians now embrace their statelessness as a source of power.

New communication technologies allow people to achieve virtual unity without a state, even as new military technologies give stateless groups a lethal capacity that in former decades could be attained only by states. Grygiel explains that it is now “highly desirable” not to have a state—for a state is a target that can be destroyed or damaged, and hence pressured politically. It was the very quasi-statehood achieved by Hamas in the Gaza Strip that made it easier for Israel to bomb it. A state entails responsibilities that limit a people’s freedom of action. A group like Hezbollah in Lebanon, the author notes, could probably take over the Lebanese state today, but why would it want to? Why would it want responsibility for providing safety and services to all Lebanese? Why would it want to provide the Israelis with so many tempting targets of reprisal? Statelessness offers a level of “impunity” from retaliation.

But the most tempting aspect of statelessness is that it permits a people to savor the pleasures of religious zeal, extremist ideologies, and moral absolutes, without having to make the kinds of messy, mundane compromises that accompany the work of looking after a geographical space.

The closest that Israelis and Palestinians ever came to peace was at the end of the Clinton Administration in 2000, when then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak of the center-left Labor Party offered a slew of concessions to the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat—only to have Arafat reject them. Arafat’s epitaph was that he remained loyal to the cause of his people, that he never compromised, and that he was steadfast to the bitter end. He may have seen that as a more morally and emotionally satisfying conclusion to a life of statelessness than that of making the unenchanting concessions associated with achieving statehood.

Read the full article here.

If this report is right, then President Obama's effort to ram an agreement down the Israelis throats is doomed to failure. For it will always be in the best interest of the Palestinian leaders to reject any offer to them that doesn't include all the land from the river to the sea. In other words, unless they get it all and Israel is eliminated, then they will not take any deal.

It is in the best interest of the Palestinian leadership to remain stateless and cry victim every time Israel tries to stop the terror that the Palestinian leadership uses to achieve their ends.
For once a nation has been formed, attacks such as the rockets falling into Israel from Gaza, suicide bombers, or the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers would and is considered an Act of War under International Law. Without the 'protection' of being stateless, the Palestinians would have to face Israel's wrath without International support.

Another consequence of the creation of a Palestinian state would be the removal of their special refugee status. Although the Saudi Peace Plan insists on a Law of Return, there is no Israeli government (on the left or the right) that will ever agree to such a demand. But for the sake of this article, let us say that the Palestinians do agree to drop this demand (Yassir Arafat refused a Palestinian nation in 2000 by doing this). Finally the Palestinians living in refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank would now be living in cities of their new nation, and the remaining refugees living in camps through out the Arab world could be relocated to the new nation, having gained the status of citizen of Palestine and losing the status of refugee.

For the average Palestinian this would be a boon. But for the leadership, this would be a nightmare. No longer would the world support through massive donations of food and monies the Palestinian people. Any agreement reached by both sides would have to include a date for ending refugee status. And thus funds. Such funds which are often diverted into Swiss bank accounts for the private use of the leadership and not the benefit of the people. This international gravy train would dry up, and the leadership would either have to beg more money from within the Muslim community and the US or EU. Eventually these funds would dry up too.

As things stand now, the PA has no reason to agree to anything except the full release to them of the land that is now Israel. Other than that, there will never be a peaceful solution to this problem. And just like Bill Clinton before him, Barack Obama just might come to realize that the PA and Hamas will never agree to anything that will end their free ride.

It Is Official!

Barack Hussein Obama is committed to the destruction of the State of Israel.

Through out the campaign, Obama kept insisting that he was a good friend of Israel and committed to preserving its existence. But the warning signs were there. The fact that Hamas in G aza was soliciting donations in the US for his campaign, the fact that until 2004 he had no Jewish friends, only Muslim friends, for 20 years he attended a rabidly anti-Semitic, anti-Israel church, and recently one of his good friends has been going around declaring that Obama will hand all the land of Israel from the Jordan River to the Sea to the Palestinians. This same friend has assured the Muslim community that he will look the other way while they rape and slaughter the 7 million Jews living in the land, that it will be done with the help of American troops, and then Obama will lead the world on the destruction of the rest of the Jewish population on Earth.

Normally I would not believe this. But now I am not so sure. Not after reading this:

Yedioth Achronoth, the largest circulation daily in Israel, reports today that President Obama intends to see the two-state solution signed, sealed and delivered during his first term.

Rahm Emanuel told an (unnamed) Jewish leader; "In the next four years there is going to be a permanent status arrangement between Israel and the Palestinians on the basis of two states for two peoples, and it doesn't matter to us at all who is prime minister."

He also said that the United States will exert pressure to see that deal is put into place."Any treatment of the Iranian nuclear problem will be contingent upon progress in the negotiations and an Israeli withdrawal from West Bank territory," the paper reports Emanuel as saying. In other words, US sympathy for Israel's position vis a vis Iran depends on Israel's willingness to live up to its commitment to get out of the West Bank and permit the establishment of a Palestinian state there, in Gaza, and East Jerusalem.

Yedioth also reports that Obama is conveying his displeasure with the new Israeli government in several ways. "US administration officials informed Netanyahu that President Obama will not be able to meet with him in early May, while the AIPAC conference is held in Washington. The meeting between the new Israeli premier and the president of the United States is perceived in Israel as a sign that the formation process of the new government has been completed and as a salutation by Israel's close friend. Netanyahu had hoped to capitalize on the opportunity and to meet with Obama during the annual AIPAC conference, but the Americans informed the Israelis that Obama was not going to be 'in town.' That being the case, the inclination among Netanyahu's aides is to cancel his trip to attend the AIPAC conference and to try to secure a date for a meeting with Obama later in May.

"Sources in Washington also said that the Obama administration would not continue the tradition that developed during the Bush administration of hosting Israeli premiers many times during the year, sometimes with just a phone call's advance notice."

So far neither the White House or the Israeli government has commented on the report which, it should be noted, comes from Shimon Shiffer, one of Israel's most highly respected journalists.

We will see what will transpire, but as long as Obama tries to force the Saudi Plan on the Israelis, refuses to stop Iran from attaining nuclear weapons, applauds those who openly view Israel and Jews as less than human, we will worry and pray. For that is all we can do right now. Pray that Prime Minister Netanyahu will stay strong to his ideals, and not waver if confronted with a choice. Give up Israel as the only Jewish nation on Earth, or give us all US Aid.

Lord Give Him Strength!!