Is Avigdor Lieberman Correct in Accusation Against Europe?

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Voice of Israel public radio, “Once again, Europe has ignored calls for Israel’s destruction. We’ve already seen this at the end of the 1930s and at the beginning of the 1940s when Europe knew what was happening in the concentration camps and didn’t act… Europe has slapped itself in the face… When Jews are sacrificed, you have to ask yourself who will be next. In Toulouse, the terrorist who killed Jewish children also killed French soldiers… Terrorism attacks Jews but it targets all countries and Western values. Israel is just an hors d’oeuvre… Hamas calls for Israel’s destruction and refused to recognize Israel and Abu Mazen (Mahmoud Abbas) supports this position while Europe stays quiet.”

There is no denying the validity of Minister Lieberman’s references to the comments made recently by Hamas Leader Khaled Meshal in a speech during his first trip to Gaza this past Saturday where he was speaking to tens of thousands of supporters at a celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the founding of Hamas. Speaking with great emotion and fury to an aroused and euphoric crowd, Meshal exclaimed, “The state will come from resistance, not negotiation, Liberation first, then statehood. Palestine is ours from the river to the sea and from the south to the north. There will be no concession on any inch of the land. There will be no concession on any inch of the land.” He vowed that all Palestinian refugees and their descendants would one day return to their original homes inundating Israel leading to forcing an Arab majority within Israel and thus ending Jewish rule. He went further with this denunciation of Israel claiming, “We will never recognize the legitimacy of the Israeli occupation, and therefore there is no legitimacy for Israel, no matter how long it will take. We will free Jerusalem inch by inch, stone by stone. Israel has no right to be in Jerusalem.” Among his further remarks was included promises that Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons would be freed using the same methods previously utilized; the kidnapping of Israelis and Israeli soldiers, such as Gilad Shalit who was released in a prisoner exchange after five years being held by Hamas, the PRC (Popular Resistance Committees) and other terror units as a hostage.

There can be no doubts that Meshal’s speech received not only no denunciations, but he was not even accused of making things more difficult and unhelpful in reaching the “two state solution” though over the weekend the Israeli plans to build homes in the suburbs of Jerusalem were condemned as such. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was actually relatively kind in his only pointing out the silence of the leadership in Europe as there was no comment by anyone anywhere making even the mildest of rebukes at the hateful threats and accusations made by Hamas’s Khaled Meshal. There was silence from the United States State Department who too were busy condemning the proposed construction of housing for Israelis around Jerusalem. The United States President and all his spokespeople and members of his administration had nary a comment of criticism of Meshal, though there had been disapproval made about Israeli housing plans around Jerusalem. The European Union as well as each and every member state were noticeable only by their complete silence over Meshal’s hateful language but the European Union did hold a meeting in which they took the time to accuse Israel of destroying any possibility of the realization of the “two state solution” due to announced plans to construct houses in the E1 areas near Jerusalem. Then there was the fact that the United Nations found themselves still way too busy condemning Israeli building plans and the end of chances for peace between Israel and the Palestinians despite their brave forging ahead granting the PLO statehood recognition to notice or mention the hatred and threats spewing forth from Gaza against Israel, every inch of Israel. I could continue going continent to continent, country to country, people in leadership position throughout the globe, and the sole comments that mentioned any disapproval of the vitriolic words uttered by Khaled Meshal in Gaza were restricted to Israelis. I could also list all the people and newspaper articles and editorials that cast Israel as the scourge to peace in the Middle East by their devious plans to construct evil housing for Israeli citizens, some of which will likely be Jewish, in completely vacant land that has not seen human habitation in recorded history but that would take pages and you would very likely not read it all anyway.

It is worth mentioning that Mahmoud Abbas while not mentioning Khaled Meshal, his speech, or even his historic visit to Gaza (Hamas’s and the wire services’ descriptor, not mine) but President Abbas did mention the time was ripe for seeking to unify the PLO, Fatah and the Palestinian Authority with Hamas and the other forces in Gaza so that there would be a unified Palestinian society which would facilitate the full realization of the recognized establishment of the Palestinian state. He also denounced the Israeli building plans threatening to take the issue before the ICC (International Criminal Court) as this was now an option due to the recognition given he and the Palestinians by the United Nations, but I remember many in Europe promising to condemn Abbas should he threaten such and have not heard a peep from anyone about his plans. Guess the Europeans are really good at minding their own and Israel’s business and that is their limit. Fates forbid they make even the slightest criticism of anything to do with the Palestinians. Mind you, there are those in Europe who are capable of taking a brave stance, and they can be found in the Czech Republic who was the only European country to vote “Nay” in the United Nations General Assembly when granting the elevated and soon to prove dangerous and unprecedented recognition of the Palestinians as a Non-Voting Observer State.

Beyond the Cusp

How Israel Should Answer Panetta Demand

Twice this past week Secretary of Defense Panetta demanded that Israel needed to take risks in order to get the Palestinians join them at the negotiating table. Since Israel has granted concession after concession over the past forty years in order to continue to be rebuffed by the Palestinians then met by even steeper demands in order to fail to reach solutions, perhaps Israel should try a different set of risk. Israel has granted so much that the Palestinian demands for resumed negotiations have gotten to the point that meeting them would remove any need for negotiations. What is left to negotiate should Israel grant that borders be defined as the 1949 Armistice Lines that existed until the 1967 Six Day War, the “Right of Return” for all Palestinian refugees, stopping all construction beyond the Green Line, and removal of all Jews in order to allow the Palestinian state be Jew free? Should anything else need to be addressed at negotiations, I feel sure that it would be added onto the list of preconditions before negotiations would be resumed. So, why not take a new tack.

Israel gave the Palestinians full autonomy over their core areas and shared authority in areas where both Jews and Palestinians resided with Israel retaining full control over a remaining section of the West Bank. In return for this the Palestinian leadership showed their appreciation by launching the intifada in 2000 that murdered over one thousand Israelis in the resultant terror violence. Israel removed their troops from southern Lebanon which resulted in the Second Lebanon War. Israel destroyed all the Jewish neighborhoods in Gaza and gave the Palestinians full autonomy in an experiment with the intent and hopes that the Palestinian leadership could rule themselves and prove their ability to live side by side with Israel in peace. In return they got Hamas whose desired aim is to murder every Jew on planet Earth launching thousands upon thousands of rockets into civilian areas, attempted kidnapping of citizens and soldiers with one successful abduction who was held in unknown conditions for over five years. And there were also Palestinian claims that the return of Gaza was insufficient and that many of the neighborhoods and kibbutzim closest to Gaza were built over destroyed Arab villages and rightfully belonged to the Palestinians and that Gaza should be enlarged to include these areas. In all too many cases, history has shown that every time the Israelis gave in on concessions the Palestinians responded with violence, death and destruction. By now, it should be obvious to many observers that giving concessions not only does not work, it is a very bad idea.

So, what should Israel try that would take the situation between them and the Palestinians in a different direction. There is one poll question which produces a result which many find surprising, that when asked whether they would rather live under Palestinian rule or Israeli rule, the majority of the Arab population of East Jerusalem chooses to remain under Israeli jurisdiction and reject Palestinian rule as shown and discussed here, and http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2011/05/05/Poll-says-East-Jerusalemites-prefer-Israel/UPI-41761304608417/ target=blank>here and even here.. This gives Israel an opportunity to grant the residents of East Jerusalem their desires and stated preference with annexation of East Jerusalem and attached close-in suburbs and neighborhoods placing them permanently under Israeli rule. Leave the possibility that the intent is to follow this annexation with others where and when similar polls call for similar actions. Place the option before the residents of the West Bank that they have the opportunity to choose Israel and are not trapped with the inevitability of being forced under Palestinian rule. And for those who are yelling red faced in rage at their computer screen about such a move being against international laws and the Geneva Convention, think again. Israel gained the West Bank directly from a defensive conflict. Even if you believe that Israel initiated the 1967 War when they preempted the Egyptian and Syrian attack which was imminent and obvious with the massing of troops on both borders with Israel, Jordan was pleaded with by the Israeli leadership not to join the war and ignored such pleas and attacked Israel who then diverted troops heading south through the Negev to head east and northeast in order to intercept the Jordanian assault. As far as the war with Egypt and Syria, once Egypt had blocked Israeli shipping from passing through the Red Sea, they had committed a casus belli for war. By any and all international law and Geneva Convention, Israel is within her rights to retain all the lands they had gained in 1967 and defended against a second attack in 1973.

It is time to try a completely different track and instead of taking a timid and apologetic approach, try a new and bolder approach and take the initiative. The time has definitely arrived for Israel to implement an option that has been available to them but ignored since the end of the six Day War, simply annex the areas which the Israeli leadership believes is necessary to assure defensible borders, exactly what is called for in United Nations Resolution 242. Just because Israel has attempted to work with the adversarial nations and forces against her does not mean that Israel is obliged to continue down this track as it has become detrimental to Israeli existence. By taking a more assertive stance and no longer attempting to mollify the un-mollifiable, Israel might discover by being assertive and showing the ability to be self-serving and departing from the subservient position that the Palestinian leadership might also change their demanding and immutable attitudes and honestly attempt to reach an accord leading to a permanent peace agreement. Even if the Palestinians continue in their deceitful wagering of a war of attrition and refusal while playing the world’s propensity to take the side opposing everything Jewish which is borne out by the historic record, Israel could simply continue to annex land until she reaches a point where desirable and defensible borders have been established and then simply ignore any and all demands for further communications. That may leave some land mostly around Nablus for the Palestinians to have their own state and continue to demand to their heart’s desire and who knows, somebody might actually bother to continue to listen to them, probably in the western parts of Europe or parts of the Middle East. Eventually their cries will fall on deaf ears as eventually everybody will tire of their lamentable pleadings. What is it that some would claim, that the entire world would turn against Israel? Please explain how that would differ wildly from the current situation. Popularity and Israel will never be long-term companions just as Jews and acceptance in the lands of others has always worked so well over time. Perhaps time has come to give Israel one last request and then simply leave her alone and reap the rewards of her discoveries which Israel has always shared generously and expecting so little in return. To expect more would have been sheer lunacy and it is always better to expect that which is likely and perhaps be surprised rather than to expect much and be discontent when receiving so much less. So, surprise Israel and give her a real chance at survival, after all, that is what is being negotiated, not borders, but simply Israel’s survival.

Beyond the Cusp

Celebratory Rocket Fire Rains on Southern Israel

Gilad Shalit has come home while Israel will end up releasing over a thousand terrorists including those with Israeli blood on their hands and a visceral hatred in their hearts. Even those who were in complete agreement supporting the deal conceded that there would be ramifications and Israel would pay a dear price of the numbers and types of terrorists who were to be freed. What were ignored were the immediate actions that would be initiated by Hamas and their fellow terror entities in Gaza to celebrate their great victory over Israel, over the Zionist Entity as they refer to Israel. The true nature of the immediate price has been made unavoidable with the massive increase in numbers and size of the rocket barrages into southern Israeli civilian population centers and upsurge of rock-throwing and other methods of attacking vehicles with Israeli license plates in and near to Samaria and Judea including attacks on an Egged bus and the new light rail trams in Jerusalem. There were many injuries and even more numerous numbers of those suffering from psychological difficulties from the attacks in addition to the death of fifty-six year old Ami Moshe in Ashkelon. This time the resultant celebratory violence was equal to the increased record levels of the number of terrorists released in this exchange. This has become the trend with ever increasing demands being made and reluctantly succumbed to by Israeli leadership when either the remains or the rare live kidnapped victim has been ransomed. One would hope that soon Israelis would wake to the warnings which are recorded in Jewish Torah, Oral Law and the Mishnah which forbids the paying of ransom that is unbalanced and demands that any ransom paid must be of equal measure, one person for one person or the related price to be of an equal measure. The only argument in these discussions was in the case where the victim will certainly be murdered if not ransomed, then some say a higher price is allowed while a near equal number claim this should not change the acceptable payment. The one area of complete and total agreement is that once a disproportionate payment has been agreed to, then you will have guaranteed ever more efforts will be made to take hostages and each will require an ever higher ransom to be paid. I fear we are too far down that road now to allow for retreat to equality in future trades. Yet, that day will eventually arrive and I fear for those who may be held ransom when the price becomes too exorbitant to be met.

Meanwhile, Israelis are currently paying the unspoken payment for this disproportionate trade, the hugely increased attacks upon the innocent. We also have a situation where a Saudi cleric offered a $100,000 reward for the capture of the next hostage and this reward was bumped up to an even $1,000,000 by one of the Saudi Princes. This is just a further escalation and the onslaughts that will very likely result due to the release of numerous planners and leaders of the terror efforts which make up the largest part of the Palestinian efforts to remove the Jews and all of Israel from amongst their lands. The rockets and the rocks that are lobbed with the intent to murder Israelis tells those willing to see with open eyes and open minds the true intent of the Palestinian leadership and seemingly the majority of the Palestinian people. The current level of attacks from both ends of the Palestinian society, the rockets from Gaza and the rocks, boulders and other projectiles including fire-bombs from Judea, Samaria, Jerusalem metropolitan areas, and areas within the Green Line that border these areas not only cannot be allowed to continue but must not be allowed to continue. Between the release of the terrorists and the Palestinian strides through the international organization to gain recognition of statehood and determination to remove Israel from the map of the world, Israel and her people are facing forces that do not simply oppose them on some points or borders but who are intent and committed to a war of genocide, especially against the Jewish population, and will not settle for anything less unless they are defeated.

Israel is going to have to make some difficult decisions and begin to implement the steps to establish a defined and permanent end to the conflict with the Palestinians, and soon thereafter, with the rest of Israel’s neighbors by whatever means prove necessary. No country can allow situations such as are being imposed on the Israelis by these terror acts and the concerted efforts of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) NGOs and other groups and expect to continue as an independent nation. With this renewed high level of attacks with even more powerful explosive warheads on the rockets and larger, longer range rockets with ever increasing accuracy as part of the cache available to Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other groups, Israeli leaders are going to have to respond with a definitive and substantial response that will be sufficient to end the attacks. The entire society of southern Israel which has come within the range of these more powerful attacks has been shut down. Schools are closed, parents are remaining home with their children, recreational and organized events have been forced to be cancelled, and shoppers are afraid to venture outside. This is not a functioning society and the government must stand up and protect its citizens as that is the first, most important and basic function which they are obliged to provide. Whether Israelis and their leaders wish it or not, war has been declared and their choices are fight or simply give up and run and hide elsewhere. That would beg the question of where and I doubt the approximately seven million Jewish Israelis would be accepted by any other country, definitely none in the Middle East or Africa; nor Europe or Asia; and doubtful that they could relocate en masse to South America, Greenland, Australia, or Central America. In the entire world, the sole places other than Israel where the Jews might be welcomed would be Canada and possibly the United States. Next time the world once again demands that Israel not defend themselves and show restraint, let them first offer the Jews of Israel an alternative where they may settle with a guarantee of peace, security, and be allowed to practice their religion for the remainder of time. I seriously doubt any of those who always seem to have an idea that things would be so much better if only the Jews would leave Israel would have any suggestion on where they should go and where they belong. Since the world has no offer or solution, obviously, then it is incumbent upon Israel to do that which is necessary, and the necessity is becoming clearer every day for those who will simply open their eyes and see without malice or prejudice.

Beyond the Cusp