The Coming Failure of Trump’s Deal of the Century

 

There are some concrete reasons why President Trump’s Deal of the Century is going to fail. Before we get to the guaranteed reasons for its coming failure, allow us to delve into some of the particulars which are guaranteed not to pass the simplest of tests. His plan is, according to limited sources largely from the left, to have Israel surrender four presumably Arab neighborhoods in Yerushalayim, Shuafat, Jabel Mukaber, Isawiya, and Abu Dis. This would be taken as something dangerous by Israel but they would possibly, and begrudgingly, allow such to pass. Then there is the amusing idea for the Old City and Temple Mount to be recognized as international territory, again according to these sources. That will work about as well as when President George W. Bush promised that the Philadelphia Corridor between the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula and Gaza would be an internationally monitored area in order to assure that no weapons, warfare materials, terrorists or other items which could be used to attack Israel passed into Gaza. The European Union promised to provide monitors at the approved Rafah crossing as well as servicing the cameras by which Israel also could monitor the crossing. The European monitors actually made it almost two weeks before retreating to Tel Aviv and then back to Europe leaving the crossing to the Arabs to do as they wished. When Egypt and Syria threatened to attack Israel and closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping leading to the Six Day War, the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) troops assigned to watch the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza to prevent just such an attack simply packed up at the request of the Egypt government and flew back home. So, we have examples of exactly how such an international zone will be kept international. Please do not even try to breach the idea of the United Nations, as we all know that is laughable.

 

This international zone would see Arab rioting within two weeks with rock throwing initially leading to firebombs and eventually the retorts from AK47s would be heard. The entire time that these assaults were occurring, the Israeli government would be warned not to interfere with the neutrality of the international zone and that these Arab demonstrations would pass and all would work out just fine. The United Nations, European Union, Russians and President Trump and his administration would all be singing the same song while the monitors or whomever was to be tasked with making sure that the world had universal access to the internationalized areas of Yerushalayim were getting ever more nervous and then fleeing for their lives with the Arabs pouring into the international zone and that would be the end of the international zone. Does anybody believe that the United Nations Security Council would pass a Chapter Seven resolution sending troops from the five permanent members’ militaries to liberate the international area in Yerushalayim? Well, are you going to suggest that the European Union will send troops to liberate the international area in Yerushalayim? Should we expect that there might be United States or Russian forces will come liberate the international area in Yerushalayim? Perhaps China forces are going to be sent to liberate the international area in Yerushalayim? There is one thing all the above mentioned will agree upon, that Israel had best just accept the new reality that the Arabs now control the international zone and they will continue to permit anybody who desires to still visit the holy sites. When the Arabs send in armed troops and erect barricades and prevent any non-Muslim from visiting any of these holy sites on the Temple Mount or in the Old City, these same governments around the world will advise Israel to simply live with this as it really does not matter that much and is not worth fighting a war over. Eventually, the situation will return to how it was before the Six Day War with snipers from the higher buildings and on the upper walls of the Temple Mount shooting into Israel making no-go zones out of sections of Western Yerushalayim. Israel has seen how the world keeps their promises when the Arabs decide to make a mockery of those very promises and will not lose access to Yerushalayim, any of Yerushalayim, and definitely not the Temple Mount and will not watch our rebuilt synagogues torn asunder by Arab mobs once more.

 

Fortunately, none of these situations will ever cone to pass. The Arabs have already given their answer to the Deal of the Century and it was a resounding, “No.” Their voices have already been heard and they proudly desire to confound any peace in which the Jews remain governing themselves and subjects under Arab rule. The PA’s official news agency Wafa quoted Abu Rudeineh saying, “All the plots aimed at eliminating the Palestinian problem will collapse because of the steadfastness of the Palestinian people and its adherence to the basic principles and legitimate rights. Our path is clear and we stand behind Abu Mazen’s historic leadership, in order to oppose all the suspicious plans.”

 

While in Moscow for talks, Abbas told Putin, “We state that from now on we refuse to cooperate in any form with the U.S. in its status of a mediator, as we stand against its actions.” Abbas added later, “For instance, ‘the quartet’ plus some other countries like the model used to achieve the deal on Iran.” This has been the main drive by Abbas for the last few years with his becoming more adamant since the election of President Trump, went onto an overt tantrum level with the recognition by President Trump of Jerusalem as the Capital City of Israel, and started the gears turning to move the American Embassy to Jerusalem. Abbas aims to have an assembly of nations similar to the General Assembly of the United Nations to force an agreement upon Israel. In order to reach such a level, Abbas realizes that the General Assembly cannot achieve this on its own as making a resolution which is more than a suggestion is beyond the General Assembly’s powers as set in the United Nations Charter. Abbas realized that in such a forum, Israel has no reasonable chance of surviving their decision as such a gathering of nations has proven in the General Assembly to be ready to denounce Israel at any opportunity and he believes if he were allowed to present a plan where the Arabs take control to rule the entirety of the lands which were originally set aside for Israel where they would take kindly care of the Jews allowing them to remain living as dhimmi, this type of assembly would approve it with such an overwhelming majority that such would become an irrefutable reality. We would not be at all surprised if Mahmoud Abbas would assemble a group of friendly nations supportive of his desires and claimed their decision serve as the new and proper solution to the Arab Israeli Conflict. He has shown signs of having lost his attachment to reason and reality making even more bellicose accusations as time is passing.

 

Abbas Gives Peace This Much of a Chance

 

Azzam al-Ahmad, a member of the Fatah Central Committee, declared on Sunday, April 29, 2018, that President Donald Trump’s “deal of the century” meant to bring an end to the Israeli-Arab conflict would not be implemented. When Mahmoud Abbas addressed the United Nations Security Council demanding that Israel be brought to basically heel to the Arab Peace Plan and that all United Nations decisions be fully implemented, which in his case includes every denunciation by the General Assembly and advisory resolutions passed by the Security Council meant to be advisory, while also demanding that in order to bring about peace at a pace which would prevent further Israel obstructions that the State of Palestine should be immediately recognized and admitted as a full member to the United Nations. This demand would use the General Assembly recognition of the dreamed of borders Abbas dreams of in his wildest dreams with the pre-Six Day War lines set as borders of Palestine with all of the Old City and Temple Mount within his Arab Palestine and all the Jews deported. We will defer on making comments and instead allow the video below to answer Mahmoud Abbas just as was done at the Security Council. Enjoy the show.

 

 

But Abbas, Fatah, Palestinian Authority and the PLO are not the only Arabs denouncing the Deal of the Century and President Trump, especially his recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli historic and eternal capital. Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud al-Zahar also has claimed that it is impossible to implement the “deal of the century” or any plan being put forward by the Trump administration. He restated that the “March of the Return” proves that the processions demonstrated that the Palestinian decision would remain in the hands of Hamas and the resistance organizations until the liberation of “Palestine.” Zahar said Thursday, May 3, 2018, “The attempt to instill fear in the lives of the settlers has already done its part, and if we look at what is happening around us, we will find that they fled because they are thieves, and what happened to them will happen in the north of the country as well.” He added, “The blood of the Palestinian people, spilled on this land, will go from here to Jerusalem.” Restating that the intent of these attacks on the Gaza border are intended to destroy the fence, erase the border and proceed in a mass mayhem of blood and fury sweep all the way to Jerusalem.

 

It is the belief of Hamas that if they simply continue to make threats and attempt to intimidate Israelis that the Jews will be chased off with their tails between their legs as had the British, the Crusaders, the Romans and every enemy they have faced. There has been a repeated claim by many Arabs that they are a desert people with more patience than Europeans have and that the Israelis are Europeans just like the British, the Crusaders, Napoleon, and every other European interloper which they have outwaited. There is one mistake in their reasoning, Israelis are not Europeans, we came from our exile in Europe as well as from almost every Arab and Muslim nations from which we were dispossessed. Our origins are from here in Israel where our ancestors settled after spending forty years in the desert simply biding our time before completing our exodus from Egypt to our Holy Lands of Israel. So, you are a desert people and are going to outwait the Jewish People, another desert people, a desert people who have waited over two-thousand years to return to out ancient homeland. Does Islam have a concept of the patience of two-thousand years? Of course you do not, as Islam is not that old, it is a mere one-thousand-four-hundred-eight years old and the Jewish people have waited between one-thousand-eight-hundred-fifty years to, for some, two-thousand-five-hundred-forty-five years with the Ten Lost Tribes having been gone even longer and some are just now returning. So, if this is a waiting game, this is one long wait you will lose.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

What Should Israel do to Mitigate the Portman Controversy?

 

Before even approaching this subject, it will be necessary to make an assessment of why Ms. Natalie Portman decided to refuse the 2018 Genesis Prize. Initially, she had appeared to be extremely excited and honored to be receiving this prize and looking forward to the ceremony despite the fact that Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu would also appear and make a speech. She initially had no problem sharing the stage with the Prime Minister, the same person she claimed was impossible for her to appear alongside as part of her reasons for refusing the award subsequently. Early last November she exclaimed, “I am deeply touched and humbled by this honor. I am proud of my Israeli roots and Jewish heritage; they are crucial parts of who I am.” Additionally she reacted, “I am particularly inspired by the opportunity to make an impact on women’s issues in Israel…Israel has already achieved much in terms of social and economic development, education and science, and we can all be rightfully proud of it as Jews…” And a last quote of her reaction is as follows, “It is such a privilege to be counted among the outstanding Laureates whom I admire so much. I express my heartfelt gratitude to the Genesis Prize Foundation, and look forward to using the global platform it provides to make a difference in the lives of women in Israel and beyond.” These quote came care of INTO THE FRAY: Natalie Portman as a symptom written by Dr. Martin Sherman, an opinion author we often read and have found to often put forth profound thought.

 

Natalie (Black Swan) Portman and Bibi Netanyahu

 

We have established that initially Ms. Portman was eager, honored and desirable of receiving the Genesis Prize. So, what happened? Her initial claim was that the violence on the Gaza border was a large mitigating factor and that she found the Israeli actions abhorrent and she could no longer receive the award. Portman said later in a statement posted on Instagram, “Let me speak for myself. I chose not to attend because I did not want to appear as endorsing Benjamin Netanyahu, who was to be giving a speech at the ceremony. Like many Israelis and Jews around the world, I can be critical of the leadership in Israel without wanting to boycott the entire nation,” Up to this point, her reasoning was purely political but confusing as she knew when she initially was reacting to being chosen that, as we already stated, knew that Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu would be attending and making a speech and sharing the stage. But then she goes off the rails making a vacuous statement which starts with a completely incorrect claim that Israel was founded to be a refuge for the survivors of the Holocaust. We have to take into consideration that she is an actress whose fame is for her physical appearance and ability to repeat lines with the proper emotion, definitely a talent but not necessarily requiring any actual knowledge of history, something often proven by today’s actors and actresses. Israel was set into motion by the 1917 Balfour Declarations and codified in the 1922 San Remo Conference and restated in further treaties and the Mandate System set in place by the League of Nations and all recognized under Article 80 of the United Nations Charter. Her following statement goes, “Israel was created exactly 70 years ago as a haven for refugees from the Holocaust. But the mistreatment of those suffering from today’s atrocities is simply not in line with my Jewish values. Because I care about Israel, I must stand up against violence, corruption, inequality, and abuse of power.” This last statement is definitively telling and on this we shall discuss as it describes Ms. Portman’s refusal, the support of the BDS Movement by the late Stephen Hawking and the numerous performers, both actors and musicians, who have cancelled tour appearances or declined making appearances in Israel, particularly Tel Aviv which is largely secular and very liberal.

 

What happens often in these cases is that the BDS Movement has a system which is largely financed by the Arab League and numerous Arab nations and which was initiated by the PLO when they supported boycotting Israel which was quickly adopted by the Arab League and eventually was transformed into the BDS Movement as the Arab boycott of Israel was too restrictive and the BDS Movement took the Arab boycott into the leftist mainstream. Since then, the BDS Movement has gained in sophistication and financing has increased and numerous leftist NGOs have adopted the BDS boycott of Israel. Some of the groups supporting BDS Movement against Israel include; Black Lives Matter, International Solidarity Movement, Olive Tree Initiative, Palestine Summer Encounter, IfNotNow, Adalah, Campus Action Network, Christian Peacemaker, Friends of Sabeel, Interfaith Peace Builders, National Lawyers Guild, Presbyterian Synod, Rachel Corrie Foundation For Peace and Justice, US Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, United Church of Christ Palestine/Israel Network, United Methodist General Board of Church and Society, Women in Black, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Council on American Islamic Relations, If Americans Knew, Muslim Public Affairs Committee, Muslim Students Association, Council for the National Interest, International ANSWER, International Socialist Organization, Jews For Justice For Palestinians, La Voz De Azatlan, La Raza, Middle East Studies Association, Nation of Islam, Veterans For Peace, Who Profits and finally, of no surprise, the American Nazi Party. Then, of course, there are numerous people of wealth who also assist financing the BDS Movement which can be found here along with a more complete list of organizations and NGOs as we only took the majority of those listed. Still, with these numerous mostly leftist organizations, there is no problem getting people to volunteer to make phone calls to whomever is the target of the moment, send e-mails from as many accounts as each has set up for their use, and make other communications making the target believe that there are millions who would never buy their albums, books or other goods or services or would no longer go to movies or plays in which they appear which can make some weaken and decide it is not worth one stop on their tour to risk this loss of support. But for others, such as Ms. Portman, there is another force in play and this is what we believe likely is what was largely behind her rejection of the award, namely peer pressures. The Hollywood crowd is not exactly known for their support of Israel just as they are not known for their support of President Trump. Israel’s main crime is that first off it is a very religious nation which in Hollywood means they are backward and ignorant. Further, Israel has repeatedly elected conservative governance which is another sign of retardation and a sick population in the minds of the mental giants in Hollywood. The real problem is that Hollywood has a herd mentality and the leadership has decidedly chosen the far left to the point that to be part of the “in crowd” in Hollywood, you have to pass a litmus test proving that you are a strong leftist and believe as the politics chosen by the crowd. Part of that politics is to support all the leftist political movements which includes the BDS Movement because it supports the Muslims who it has been decided are the downtrodden and victims in the world as well as being thought to be people of color despite the fact that being a Muslim says nothing about your pigmentation as it is a religion, not a race. Still, this measure makes Israel the greatest evil on the planet as the Muslims desire that Israel be eradicated and thus to be part of the accepted crown in Hollywood, you must hate Israel. Ms. Portman was likely informed by numerous of her “friends” that she must refuse this “Israel” award, especially if she desired to be invited to the “in” parties or be considered for any future roles in movies for the rest of her life. Simply put, she was likely threatened by her community that this would be considered an unconscionable sin which would be inexcusable and be held against her forevers. This is our theory and it has been a systemic problem with many concerts being cancelled for their Tel Aviv or Jerusalem appearances which has been effective for many newer bands while many of the old rock-n-roll bands have simply ignored or stated outright that they will perform in Israel, BDS be damned.

 

Now, as our title stated, what can Israel do to mitigate this effect? There are many who claim that Israel need invest far more funds in external affairs to fight against these efforts and work to put the Israel reality story into the public discourse. This would be a possible means for Israel to combat this and there are many who are out there, us included, telling the Israel reality and standing up for Israel. The question to ask is how much Israel should put into such a program to make it successful? Well, at least as much as is invested against Israel. Were Israel to do such, then the Saudis, the NGOs, the European Union and many member nations, the United Nations, and numerous billionaires will simply double down and Israel cannot keep pace and still have any funds left for anything else, especially for the IDF. Israel cannot keep pace with the funds put up against her so that is not an issue. Even if Israel were to triple the funds and efforts into such policies, they would be but a small drip compared to the tsunami her detractors are spending. Perhaps having those people with famous names could be encouraged to stand stronger and louder in their support would help. The other side has the trump numbers and could bring far more people to the floor through intimidation or simply depending on true believers. The only thing Israel can do to protect herself is to continue to be the most moral nation and work within the systems which already give her legal right to the lands west of the Jordan River. What would likely surprise even the supporters of Israel is that it would be legal for Israel to deport the Palestinian Arabs into Jordan from the entire Shomron without so much as a how do you do. This would be just as legal as the deporting of the German people in the lands Poland was awarded after World War II and from the lands France was awarded after World War I. It would be legal just as the two populations which were exchanged between India and Pakistan after the founding of Pakistan. There were a number of population exchanges made in the world within the last century and should have occurred when Israel liberated the Shomron and Gaza Strip during the Six Day War in July of 1967. The Arabs in the Gaza Strip would have been displaced into the Sinai Peninsula or into Egypt. Technically, under the rules of warfare, since Israel was responding to a breach of the treaty by Egypt who blockaded the Straits of Tiran in the Red Sea which was a casus belli as an act of war. This made all the actions by Israel during the Six Day War and the Yom Kippur War legal and Israel should have been permitted to retain all the land Israel deemed necessary or desirous for her defense and future requirements. This means that Israel could have retained the entirety of the Sinai Peninsula and forced the Egyptians residing there to move across the Suez Canal into Egypt and that would have been legal. This is how the Rules of War read since they were agreed upon through World War I. Since then, the main alteration has been that lands gained in a defensive war may be held until decisions are reached between the involved nations in a formal peace treaty. The aggrieved nation which was attacked, they are permitted to retain the land they gained should this be coded in the peace treaty and cannot be forced to return the lands otherwise. This is why Israel could only be required to return land and not all the land after the Six Day War as encoded in UNSC Res. 242. The Egypt treaty surrendered the formerly occupied Gaza Strip and the peace with Jordan surrendered all of the formerly occupied Shomron, the lands west of the Jordan River. Once the people in Gaza had been moved into Egypt and the people in the Shomron moved into Jordan, that should have been the end of everything. The world decided they could not live with Israel being permitted the same rights of other nations which had been established over the years. Israel had been promised the lands west of the Jordan River which she possessed when founded in May of 1948 until she was attacked by six Arab armies intent on the eradication of the Jewish State and genocide of the Jews within the nascent state.

 

Israel survived that assault but lost the area of the Shomron and Gaza Strip including half of Jerusalem including the entirety of the Old City. The Jews residing in the lost territories were forced from their properties mostly without taking their belongings and their homes were gifted to the favored of the King of Jordan. Jordan then destroyed the Synagogues and the Mount of Olives cemetery and other Jewish properties. The marker stones from the Jewish cemeteries were taken and used as paving stones and for making bathrooms intended as insult to the dead Jews. When Israel regained the Old City and the Temple Mount all of the holy sites were found in poor repair and the entirety of Eastern Jerusalem was found to be mostly a ruin with everything broken and in disarray. Since then, Israel has revitalized the entire region and repaired the holy sites, rebuilt some of the Synagogues and some are still in the planning stage and will be rebuilt with time. Some were so completely destroyed that they are not being rebuilt. Water systems and electrical systems have been repaired and improved and waste systems repaired with new treatment facilities built. The entirety of East Jerusalem has been modernized while taking care to keep as much of the original structures intact or repaired as necessary. The Palestinian Arabs were established with one intent, the complete destruction to destroy all of Israel. This was in the original charter of the PLO and remains in the charter of Hamas and Islamic Jihad while the Arab League still calls for the destruction of Israel and Iran has stated their desire to destroy Israel as well as the United States. Perhaps the United Nations would do something unprecedented and honor their Charter, in particular, Article 80 which claimed that they would enforce the Mandate System which would imply that they would recognize the lands west of the Jordan River as belonging rightfully to Israel. Such a decision might end the problems which have been behind the Arab-Israeli conflict should the United Nations in the Security Council recognize the Jordan River as the eastern border of Israel and support the resettlement of the Palestinian Arabs either in Jordan or allow them to choose whichever Arab nations or nation which would accept them allowing their removal from the land of Israel, something eminently legal under the laws of war. For those who wish to apply the Geneva Convention to the Arab-Israeli conflict, since the lands of the Shomron were occupied by Jordan and Jordan definitely attacked Israel as part of the Six Day War making Israel the aggrieved nation, Israel is the only nation with a true claim to the lands west of the Jordan River. Facts can be sticky objects, and these are the facts. As for Gaza, Israel surrendered claim to Gaza and Hamas took Gaza in a coup, thus if the world really desires to make a Palestinian State, Gaza would serve well and it could be called one of many names. Allow us to suggest a few; there could be Hamastan, Islamasstan, Gazastan, Terrorville or Hamastania.

 

Beyond the Cusp

 

History of Jerusalem and Status Quo Incompatible

 

Of the cities within Israeli Control; Hevron, Jericho, Safed (Tzfat), Shiloh, Bethel and Akko are amongst the oldest. Shiloh and Bethel are most notable as locations for the Tabernacle before it was brought to rest in Jerusalem by King David. Hevron is notable as the first capital city of the Israelite Tribes before King David made Jerusalem the capital city around 1100 BCE to 1200 BCE depending on your source (yes we understand some claim different dates and others claim Kings David and Solomon were myths and the Hebrew Bible belongs next to Aesop’s Fables and the Tales of the Brothers Grimm in the fiction and moral tales aisle, but we tend to ignore such tripe). Safed was considered one of the four holy cities along with the aforementioned Jerusalem and Hebron as well as the later addition of the Roman city of Tiberius. Tiberius was built by the Romans in a location that made it visible from much of the entirety of the Israelites civilization and was built with one simple and overriding purpose, to dazzle, impress and force the will of Rome through visualizing Roman superiority and greatness through the magnificence of the city of Tiberius, and it worked except the Hebrews (Jews) simply included it as one of their own taking away the Roman attributes and simply thanking the Romans for constructing what Hashem demanded of the Romans to do for the Hebrews. This leaves Akko which presents an interesting set of tales. It need be mentioned that Akko is considered to be the oldest city in all of the area which became Israel by quite a number of years. Thus let us compare the two oldest cities and Jerusalem and their respective status-quo.

 

Jericho is the city which guards the gateway to the Holy Lands. It is centered in the Jordan River Valley and guards the largest of the passes through the Judean hills and as such must be taken if one expects to supply their armies. Oddly enough, battles for Jericho, other than the one time its walls came tumbling down, are rather absent from much of history despite it being taken by many conquerors including at least one Islamic Leader. Once any group is established in the areas of the Holy Land, they are able to use multiple trade routes; it is largely necessary to take Jericho if one is attacking from the east or south as from the south one is more likely to circle around the Negev Desert and attack crossing the Jordan River necessitating taking Jericho. Should any of these invasions succeed, then their conquest is noted crowned by their conquest of Jerusalem, not Jericho. Jerusalem and Akko are the two main gems in the crown of those wishing to conquer the holy lands simply because Jerusalem was the Capital City of Kings David and Solomon which made it the notable city in the entire area. Akko is the oldest city even older than all the aforementioned especially Jerusalem and older than Beersheba, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza City and any other as Akko is claimed to be approximately five-thousand-years old. It is worth reviewing Akko, the great port city of its age, as it has a protected port in the small bay guarded by the city as well as a seaward port which can handle deep draft vessels meaning Akko could be a port for any ships or smaller boats for across the sea and local trade with more natural docking berths than even Alexandria, especially deeper draft berths. This made Akko as important as Jerusalem to controlling the Holy Lands.

 

Mosaic of the Early Holy Land

 

So let us compare Akko and Jerusalem. Before the Hebrews, the Israelites, the area of Canaan was ruled by city-states of which Akko was one of the oldest and displayed the greatest of walls. The walls of Akko would only be challenged by the walls of Jerusalem herself. The main powers of the early history, almost prehistory, were the Hittites and the Egyptians who basically would fight one another for control over the Holy Lands and even the Sinai Peninsula when Egypt was weakest. These two would mostly fight in the open and whichever side won the day, that would be the greater power which the area city-states would pledge allegiance. On occasion the ruling force might demand additional troops from the cities under their control and whether they were given forces who fought well, they were probably considered the preferred and stronger of the two superpowers fighting to control the region. Akko being located farther north than Jerusalem was often not as likely of being contested and thus remained largely under Hittite rule with only occasional Egyptian rule; this was a more secure and established city with a steady rule while Jerusalem was often under contention, siege, and often would change hands sometimes for days or weeks and at other times for some years. The introduction of the Hebrews, the Israelites, around the year 1525 BCE started their exodus which led to their conquest of the Holy Lands starting roughly sometime in the fourteenth century BCE. Akko already had some history but much of that was Hittite with brief periods under other rulers. There is one individual’s conquests which depict the special difference which Akko held and why for many years during the Crusades remained in Crusader control despite the rest of the area falling to the Muslims. Jerusalem during these times changed hands which led to many individual sweeps which tried to purge the non-believers from Jerusalem. The Crusaders murdered Muslims and the Islamic rulers purged Christians and both sides had one concept in common, both purged Jerusalem of its Jews yet somehow some number of Jews always survived. The conquest of the region by Napoleon was revealing in that he controlled Jerusalem but despite two separate assaults on the walls of Akko, Napoleon was unable to breach the walls and thus Akko never fell to Napoleon. What are we trying to convey? Namely that of all the cities of the Holy Lands, Jerusalem was the most conquered, most divided, and the city with the least amount of a status-quo as the changing of hands led to different rules with each change of rulers. Simply, the status-quo of Jerusalem is about as fluid as any city in all of recorded history and even before.

 

But the talk now is about the recent status-quo of Jerusalem that we are referencing when we talk about status-quo and mostly about the status-quo of the Old City and the Temple Mount even more particularly. The reason that the Muslims specify the Old City and Temple Mount is because Western Jerusalem has been under Israeli rule and was the Capital City for Israel from May 15, 1948, uninterrupted to this day and thus it actually has a status-quo, Israeli rule under Israeli law with Israel responsible for its security and the Jewish State never lost control of this area resulting from the invasion by much of the Arab world the very first day of Israeli existence with the intent of a genocidal conquest slaughtering every Jew in the lands. At dawn of May 15, 1948, Israel legally was the ruling force of all the lands west of the Jordan River to the eastern border of the Mediterranean Sea. The Arab forces had already infiltrated the easternmost lands by stationing troops and special forces inside most of the Arab cities, towns, and other communities with the intent of breaking any lines of communications, reinforcements and resupply thus weakening the Israeli defenses. These defenses were already in disarray with the many different forces spread between the Haganah, Irgun, Sternists, Palmach, Lehi, Mahal (foreign volunteers such as Colonel David Daniel “Mickey” Marcus played by Kirk Douglas in the movie Cast a Giant Shadow) and various individual forces made up mostly of community guards and volunteers from farmers to refugees straight fresh from the boats from the numerous detainment camps which the British used to keep the vast majority of Jews trying to reach the Holy Lands after World War II. The result of this war left Jerusalem split in half with the eastern half which included the entirety of the Old City and Temple Mount in Jordanian hands and the western parts of Jerusalem in Israeli hands. The Jewish residents of the Old City were forced from their homes by the Jordanians or shot during the fighting simply because they were Jews in Arab controlled areas. This situation led to two completely separate status quos for the divided city of Jerusalem.

 

Colonel David Daniel “Mickey” Marcus

 

The following history of the city of Jerusalem for the nineteen years from May 15, 1948, through June 7, 1967, when Israel liberated the whole remainder of Jerusalem during the Six Day War after Jordan attacked on the second day of the war despite Israeli pleas that they not join the losing efforts of Syria and Egypt. Jordan chose to believe the reports by Syrian and Egyptian broadcasts that they were closing on Tel Aviv and destroying the Israeli forces on every front. The reality was quite the opposite as Israel not only was not losing but had liberated Gaza and taken the Golan Heights and Sinai Peninsula plus had advanced towards Damascus with the Syrian forces being routed just as were the Egyptians. After Jordan joined the war, they were forced from their occupation, illegal occupation, of Judea and Samaria with Israel regaining the lands lost in 1948 during the war against the Arab world intent on destroying the Jewish State. During those nineteen years the eastern parts of Jerusalem, the parts occupied by Jordan, remained remarkably the same with minimal amounts of additional building beyond that necessitated by increases in population. That was a real status quo with almost nothing changed. On the western parts of Jerusalem under Israeli control the city was built up and modernized with an entire new city center and whole entire suburbs with new roads, schools, synagogues, homes, businesses and gained an entire new look. There is a whole new Jerusalem today than there was in 1967, let alone in 1948 or in the year 500 or back in 1100 BCE when King David conquered the city gaining access through the waterway from the spring outside the city to the central cistern from where his small raiding party opened the city gates and his troops poured in before dawn. The question kind of has to be what status quo as Jerusalem has been a city of constant change and change is the enemy of status quo.

 

Jerusalem 1950 Jerusalem 1970
Jerusalem 2010

 

We have spoken on the supposed status quo in Jerusalem before which can be found as the first seven links from these search results but let us speak of it once more. What the Palestinian Arabs as well as the Jordanians and much of the United Nations wish for Israel to do when they demand we keep the status quo in Jerusalem is to enforce the occupation rules when Jordan illegally occupied half of Jerusalem. Further, they are demanding that Israel also enforce the Jordanian rules in all of the lands which the Jordanians illegally for the nineteen years between May 15, 1948 and June 7, 1967 which would prevent Jews from even visiting areas of Judea and Samaria, let alone reside there. This would continue to forbid Jews from returning to their actual homes which they still retain the deeds to despite the fact that Israel has liberated those homes. They would forbid the Jews whose homes are in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem from returning to these homes and forbid Israel from restoring the Synagogues destroyed by the Jordanians simply because they could not tolerate a Jewish construction in the area while they controlled it, even illegally occupying the area. This is the status quo the world, or at least much of it, demand of Israel which comes down to one simple concept, they wish to deny Jews equal rights in areas within Israel. That is blatant anti-Semitism and that is not an enforceable or even allowable status quo no matter what anybody wishes to claim. Israel, in theory, has freedom of religion yet those demanding the retaining of the status quo are demanding that Israel suspend freedom of religion and allow only Muslims to pray on the Temple Mount and only Islam be observed. This is true even for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre which would be an interesting question to pose as it is on the Temple Mount, surely they can hold services. Well, the priests inside may pray but they may not hold any public services as that would break the iron law of status quo. There has been a small concession in the status quo, on the days when the Islamic Waqf decides and only on the hours granted, people other than Muslims may visit the Temple Mount but they are not permitted to enter the Mosques nor may anybody offer even a suspected whim of praying. Even a Buddhist or Taoists or Native American would not be permitted to utter a solemn sound as that would destroy the status quo and the purity of Islam. But is this really the actual status quo or a new demand which is not new as the status quo has been a moving line where the rules have changed as the Islamic forces rise in their perception of their power while the Western World appears to be wilting. The truth is fascinating.

 

Back after the Six Say War and again after the Yom Kippur War when the Islamic forces were thwarted by Israel and handed them a crushing defeat the rules were very different. The Waqf said little if anything and the Temple Mount was open most of the time only closed on Muslim Holy Days and this was at a decision made by the Israelis out of respect. Prayer was not an issue and the Waqf rarely placed watchers on the Temple Mount as there would have been little for them to enforce. Entrance to the Mosques was limited but permission was given for those requesting a tour which was usually guided with the holiest areas off the tour though often visible from an adjoining area. These rules were the status quo for much of the time until the start of the First Intifada in the late 1980’s and the Oslo Accords in September of 1993. Then with each concession by Israel in order to persuade, read bribe, Yasser Arafat and then Mahmoud Abbas, read Yasser Arafat in a suit, the Waqf gained in strength and the status quo slowly but inexorably moved to be more and more strict. This progression would seem to have reached its end but there is still room to allow only Muslims onto the Temple Mount and all others banned from the site even to the point of demanding the priests from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre be removed from their posts and then the turning of the church into yet one more Mosque. Think that might be something they would not do, then you need to look into the history of the Hagia Sophia which was first made into a Mosque after the conquest of Constantinople, where even the name of the city itself was changed to Istanbul, and in recent times has been changed into a museum which depicts both of its histories. Do not hold your breath praying this becomes the status quo for that former greatest cathedral in all Christendom as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been slowly moving Turkey towards becoming an Islamic theocracy aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood; so the Hagia Sophia Museum may be headed for a new future back to being a mosque.

 

As the status quo of the Temple Mount has been altered with time and feelings of gaining the upper hand and becoming powerful while Israel appears to have weakened in protecting any Jewish rights to the Temple Mount even to not preventing the destruction of countless artifacts from the First and Second Temples which the Waqf had claimed to be installing drainage ditches in order to dig down and destroy every artifact they found and the Israeli Antiquities Authority protested but was overruled by the Waqf claiming their unopposable Islamic right to any action they chose. The reality is that the Waqf only retains any authority for as long as Israel is willing to tolerate their actions. Let me repeat that, for as long as Israel tolerates their actions. Why are they still here and not back in Jordan where they belong? Prime Minister Netanyahu that question is for you. Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked, why is Israel not applying our authority over the Temple Mount as an integral part of our Capital City of Jerusalem and location of the holiest ground in the Jewish faith? We do not expect any of the myriad of Israeli officers, who have the authority to remove the Waqf from all of Israel and send them back to Jordan which is the nation responsible for choosing these officers, to perform their duty as currently demanded by a majority of the Israeli population. What we would expect is for Israel to finally get sick and tired of the world demanding that we shrink from our rightful claims and legal ownership under International Law through an entire series of treaties and other legal rights granted through the League of Nations and enforceable under the Charter of the United Nations that all the land west of the Jordan River belongs to Israel. We gave away Gaza under what became obviously an on again off again promise which was given by United States President Bush and not enforced by President Obama and overruled by the United Nations with Security Council Resolution 2334 which being under Chapter Six is not enforceable by military action or economic embargo by the United Nations itself and contrary to the United Nations Charter (which actually negates the entirety of Resolution 2334) and apparently will be honored by President Trump. Gaza will remain in the hands of Hamas which will be left to Egypt to either tolerate or retake control over the area as they had before the Six Day War. Israel has obviously taken a mow-the-grass attitude where whenever Hamas decides to attack at a level no longer tolerable by the Israeli public, then they will destroy Hamas and Islamic Jihad from being capable of continuing their destruction and aggressions against Israel. As far as Hamas and their aiding the terrorist forces in the Sinai Peninsula, as that harms Egypt far more than Israel, this problem will be left up to Egypt to address. Should this become the situation harming Israel, they would work with Egypt on resolving who would take the appropriate actions or what combined actions are required. But regarding the areas of Judea and Samaria, Israel has every right to resolve all aspects of the conflict in whatever means Israel might decide is to Israel’s best advantage. The rules which gives Israel dominion over the lands west of the Jordan River places an obligation to provide religious, social, ownership of property, and all rights with the exception of political rights. This allows that Israel treat any and all Arabs residing in Judea and Samaria as legal resident aliens which would allow them everything they currently have except they would not be permitted to vote in elections. Israel would likely allow them to continue self-rule in areas where they are the majority population at the time of the reestablishment of Israeli governance. This could be any date or time even ten minutes from now, the only requirement would be for Prime Minister Netanyahu making an announcement of such a decision, nothing more.

 

This is another one of those eventualities which will happen, it is simply a matter of when but we would advise not holding one’s breathe. The world will make a huge noise and protest as loudly as they are capable with the United Nations General Assembly passing more resolutions against Israel than usual. Many of the Arabs residing in Judea and Samaria would initially believe that they would be thrown from their homes and lose their businesses fearing the worst and expecting Israel to act as they had acted when they illegally occupied these lands and evicted or murdered every Jew residing within the region. Their reaction would be similar to any Japanese soldier captured by the allies in World War II as they had been told that they should expect to be tortured just as the Japanese did to the allied prisoners they captured. Much to the Japanese surprise they were treated well and with respect and much to the Arab’s surprise the Israelis would grant them more rights while allowing them to continue residing on their land and retaining most of their rights. They already do not vote in Israeli elections and that would remain the same. Israel would likely give them an offer to resettle outside of Israel with an incentive to aid their relocation and payment for the property they currently own as if they had sold it and once they took such a deal they would not be permitted to return with any intent to reside in Israel in the future. But all this is conjecture until Israel gets true, strong and confident Zionist leadership willing to take decisive measures to assure Israeli survival. We await such times and pray it will not require the Messiah in order to reach such finality.

 

Beyond the Cusp