Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s claim to have a clear mandate from the people to implement his “convergence” plan is very debatable.
But let’s say for the sake of argument that his intention to surrender almost all of Israel’s biblical heartland does enjoy majority support.
Does that necessarily make it a good idea? There is not one shred of evidence suggesting that after Israel withdraws from over 90 percent of Judea and Samaria, the world will not continue to back Arab demands to surrender the rest, including the eastern half of Jerusalem.
In fact, recent comments from Washington, from where Olmert is hoping to gain recognition for Israel’s new borders, suggest the exact opposite.
You see, while the American people in general may be Israel’s unconditional friend, the powers that be in Washington will not risk further ruffling Europe’s or the Arab world’s feathers in order to back what its allies in Jerusalem say is best for the Jewish state.
Washington will, however, support the division of this land. Not because Olmert says such a move is necessary, but because Europe and the Arabs demand it.
And that is where US government support for Olmert’s policies will stop - where they cease to coincide with the demands of Israel’s enemies.
It could not be any more plain that the end result of Olmert’s “convergence” will be that Israel divests itself of its most valuable bargaining chips before final status negotiations even begin.
And when the day comes - 5, 10, 15 years from now - when the world forces Israel to again sit down with the “Palestinians” and hammer out a final peace deal, what will Israel have left with which to negotiate? Pretty much nothing, and the Arabs have consistently proven they will not offer “peace” in return for nothing.
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21 comments so far ↓
1 Seth // Apr 26, 2006 at 4:24 am
In view of what has transpired these last 20 years, would I still be considered an extremist if I waxed nostalgic for Rabbi Kahane?
It seems that Israeli voters have either moved too far to the left en masse or they have allowed terrorism to break their will. We’ve seen time and time again the futility of giving concessions to the Palestinians. They never fulfill even an iota of any bargain they strike, but are right there to see that Israel adheres to its end of things with the utmost tenacity.
As far as Washington is concerned, they will never understand that the Muslim mindset, because of the teachings of Islam, bears no resemblance to those of westerners, and will be forever useless as mediators because of this.
Where the bulk of the U.N. and Old Europe are concerned, Israel is an inconvenience they wouldn’t mind seeing go away.
This leaves Israel totally on its own, and the decision of whether or not the Jewish State survives is purely in the hands of its citizens and the leadership they select, or perhaps, in the present case, allow.
As I have stated at my own blog in the past, my belief is that if Israel is to ultimately survive, it will mean that somewhere along the line they have put world “opinion” on hold and mounted a ruthless military campaign against all Palestinian terrorists, a “root and branch” operation.
That would also mean closer Israeli monitoring of the Palestinian community by Shabak, whether or not the denizens of said community, or the U.N., the U.S., or any other country likes the idea.
I will say for a certainty that if some folks in Israel don’t extract their roshes from their touchases PDQ, they’ll end up negotiating themselves out of a country.
2 Dan // Apr 26, 2006 at 8:01 am
I’m an American and I can plainly see the futility in conceeding more land to muslims. Their own words and actions show that peace is not the objective. They will not be happy until Israel does not exist anymore.
The line has been drawn in the sand. Why do the U.S. and Israel continue to believe that they can negotiate with the muslims? Recent history demonstrates that the muslims only negotiate at all due to their weak position and not their desire to live in peace with the rest of the world.
3 Steve Myers // Apr 26, 2006 at 1:05 pm
I totally agree.
It’s time for the so-called “Palestinians” to be removed politely but forcibly from west of the Rover Jordan, and placed in a new location - possibly in the northern part of Saudi Arabia. They belong in the 82% of the former Palestine which is Jordan, but the US will probably not agree to destabilize an ally like that.
The pretense that these people need to be accommodated within Israel’s Biblically mandated, British promised area west of the Jordan must end.
Enough of this! Time for action!
Steve Myers
steve@radiosteve.org
http://www.pageonedaily.com
4 Bobbie // Apr 26, 2006 at 1:05 pm
I THINK THAT DAN AND SETH BOTH ARE RIGHT, UNTIL ISRAEL GETS LEADERS THAT WILL STAND UP AND TELL NOT JUST THE ARAB WORLD BUT THE U.S. TO BACK OUT OF THEIR BUSINESS, THEY WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE ARABS.
GOD HIMSELF GAVE THAT LAND TO HIS CHOSEN PEOPLE, HE SAID AND THAT SEALS IT.
GOD BLESS STAN CONTINUE TO TELL IT LIKE IT IS. YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND ALL OF ISRAEL ARE IN MY PRAYERS.
5 Kira // Apr 26, 2006 at 2:33 pm
But Israel is not conceding or giving away land! They are imposing borders unilaterally, since negotiations have never been successful in this feat. Additionally, they are building a fence or wall to physically keep insurgents out. Without being an occupying force, Israel can also retaliate mlitarily for mortar/rocket attacks over that wall. This has been the “hard-line, extreme” position for over a decade - build a wall and to hell with them. Now that all other options have been exhausted, this is the plan. What alternatives do you guys suggest? Continue the pointless occupation?
6 David // Apr 26, 2006 at 4:49 pm
Kira, Israel has never engaged in a “pointless occupation.” Israel was not occupying Palestinian Land. The West Bank and Gaza did not belong under any recognized sovereignty, and therefore Israel’s presence cannot be defined as an occupation. Israel took administrative control of the West Bank and Gaza from Jordan and Egypt when they used those areas to stage attacks on Israel in the 6-Day War. Israel took those territories in self-defense because of a war the Arabs instigated. Israel rightfully held those territories in order to prevent further attacks from those areas.
Israel is giving away the only things with which it has to negotiate with the Palestinians. Even if Israel does hold on to the West Bank, the Palestinians have NEVER promised true peace in exchange for Land. Every concession Israel has ever made was only repayed with bloodshed. Israel should not concede ANY Land.
Frankly, I think it would be a good idea to retake Gaza.
7 Floyd stroud // Apr 26, 2006 at 6:32 pm
Bush is an idiot.He has no busness telling Israel what they can and can’t do.
8 SEFord2003@yahoo.com // Apr 26, 2006 at 9:00 pm
The “pointless occupation” is occupying the “LAND” that belongs to Israel by covenant right.
9 JonR // Apr 27, 2006 at 2:43 pm
I am an American and born Catholic. That being said, I must caution Israel not to give in to the foolish left and peaceniks among you that talk appeasement and surrender of the Jewish State.
The Muslims will never work with you nor give you peace for land. They are a culture of death and an antithesis to Judeo-Christianity. Never, never forget your past and do not be misled into thinking that the Muslims will recognize Israel. You are in a war of survival. Deal with it or perish as a nation.
10 Seth // Apr 27, 2006 at 3:15 pm
Kira –
The Palestinians take every Israeli concession to be a sign that terrorism is working, and they immediately accellerate it. When they got Gaza, Hamas leaders even said as much and vowed to increase the terrorism to get still more land.
Also, Israel is comparatively tiny as it is, and if there’s one thing they need it’s population growth. They need to have space. The reason Israeli women are today kept away from combat is because they are the reproducers, and the Palestinians grow large families.
The Arabs started the fight back in 1967, and as far as the West bank and Gaza are concerned, to the victor went the spoils –the land was kept, as David said above, as a buffer zone against further attacks, but in the ensuing decades a lot of people, such as Jews finally permitted to leave the Soviet Union, settled in those territories with the understanding that they could call them home. I totally sympathize with all those families that were practically dragged kicking and screaming from their homes because the Israeli government broke its own covenant with itself and its citizens and negotiated with terrorists. And make no mistake, negotiating with the Palestinians is negotiating with terrorists.
They need to draw a line somewhere, or they’ll keep making concessions until they find themselves completely evicted by new Palestinian landlords.
11 sherry // Apr 28, 2006 at 8:00 am
I am an American. The land that every one wants Israel to give away for peace is the covennet that God gave Israel it is not to be divided. Each time there is more land that is given away God rains down His Wrath on the people who are responsibal or a round about way. God is mad and I think that all the people in America and elsewhere need to suport Israel and leave the land where it belongs with the childern of Israel and stand beside them through thick and thin with there land. No one has the right to divide the land may God forgive the people who do.
12 sherry // Apr 28, 2006 at 10:19 am
ferther more the Palestinians have no right to the land if God wanted them to have that land He would have given it to them and not through false peace.
13 dse574@aol.com (dave) // Apr 29, 2006 at 12:13 pm
Let’s bring things down to the simplest terms possible. The muslims have declared war against all non-muslims in the world. They have pronounced their intentions over and over in unmistakable terms. Therefore, until all muslims OR all non-muslims are dead, there will be turmoil, terrorism, death and war. Someone please tell me what so many people find hard to understand about this equation!
14 eddy // Apr 29, 2006 at 8:25 pm
Hamas and others are dedicated to having complete control over all of Israel. Should they gain that control (God forbid!!), There will be absolutely no tolerance or mercy shown to all who are named Jewish or Israeli or Christian for that matter. As in the past, the whole area would be left as a neglected Middle-Eastern backwater, just watch Gaza’s “developement” in the next few years. In simplest terms possible - Dave’s right.
15 Glen // Apr 29, 2006 at 9:57 pm
The reward for giving land to the palestinians is a real negative.. There is no pleasing people that steals, kills, and destroys for a life style.. The Jews are returning to the promised land and need all the land that God origionally gave to them. Biblically speaking, God said those who bless Israel will be blessed — Guess what happens to those who are against them… You are right judgement will come upon them. As I am a US Citizen, the UNITED STATES can’t afford to encourage Israel to give away land because it is wrong and crosswise of Biblical wisdom. We do not want that kind of judgement either…
16 sherry // Apr 30, 2006 at 3:50 pm
Glen… Amen to that I could not have said that any better.
17 jperlow@hotmail.com // May 4, 2006 at 8:13 pm
I know that the term Anti-Semites many not be Politically Correct, especially when you have Arabs pointing out that they are also Semites. However, the term has entered the world lexicon to mean a person who essentially hates Jews and Jewish things. Historically there have been many cases of individual as well as national Anti-Semites. Recent historians need only consider the Nazis.
Over the years I have met a very unique form of Anti-Semites. They consist of Jews that hate their birthright. In College and Grad School I often was given special treatment by these people. Sometimes it was so apparent that other people couldn’t understand what was happening. Once a fellow from India commented that the teacher seems to go out of his way to insult me.
Herzel wanted a new form of Zionism, a form that did not require traditional beliefs. That doesn’t mean that he was anti-religious, he just wasn’t brought up with strong feelings either way. After reporting on the framing of the French General Drefus he concluded that Jews needed a safe haven of their own. This would best be served by having their own land. Fact was that religious Jews have always felt a connection to Zion. It was the irreligious Jews that had no place to call home during times of disaster.
Herzel developed the concept of non-religious or Secular Zionism. Initially it was separate but compatible with traditional Jews. Unfortunately, his efforts were high-jacked by revolutionary ideas developing across Europe. Many non-religious Jews believed that Liberalism and Socialism was the way to create a level playing field for all people. Jewish Socialist took over Secular Zionism and wanted to make a new people that would be separate and yet part of this superior race. Perhaps this sounds a bit like what was happening in Germany and Russia. (Readers of a book called “Perfidy” may find that these Jewish socialist were able to work with some of the Nazis and even apparently gained access to a concentration camp to save some of their members.) Many of these same people came from Eastern Europe. (One should not forget that there were many Jews involved in the establishment of the Soviet Union.)
Since the time of Moses there have been Jews who wanted to disassociate themselves from the Bible. Now these people have coalesced in the last century and wanted to work their evil ways by creating something new called “Israeli” in place of traditional Jews
The religious Zionist, people who loved the land for thousands of years, wanted to live in Zion for the sole purpose of growing closer to G-d. In the mean time the secularist took control of the financial institutions, the media, education, etc. This is why even today one needs to be careful when listening to the Israeli media. The education system, especially the Universities, is heavily controlled by the left wing elitists. Many modern religious and educated Jews have seen their own children go “off the road” thanks to the higher education system in Israel. It is a Professor from Haifa University that has been very involved in trying to get European Universities to disassociate from Israeli Universities.
For many years the left controlled almost everything. Suddenly a right wing part under Begin took control of the government. The leftist woke up to the fact that there plan to degrade traditional beliefs had failed. Instead of force-feeding Jews that being Israeli was enough, they found that many Israelis were returning to their roots. Shock and awe, what should these “anti-Jews Jews” do? They do what left-wingers do when cornered. They tear down and destroy everything so that no one has anything.
To regain power the lefts teamed up with Israel’s worst enemy, the PLO. By making a deal with the devil they bought the Arab-Israeli votes and got back into power. Then they bought off a religious party to pass the original Oslo accord. Since then it has been one disaster after another.
(One often asks why Shas sold out for some money. I can only imagine that they felt that since G-d ultimately controls everything any short term loss would not really matter. I doubt that they imagined the loss of life that resulted. True they seem to be doing the same mistake again. I guess time will tell if they will allow Olmert to go ahead with his plans.)
Years ago I told a friend that the real plan of these leftist is to turn Israel into a non-sectarian State dominated by an Arab majority where non-Muslim will have their personal rights and freedoms protected. This will finally allow Jews not to be Jewish in the biblical land of the Jewish People.
While Israel is not like South Africa or Rhodesia, it is still a unique entity in the middle of a Muslim world. These anti-Jews want to morph the country along the lines of South Africa. Unfortunately the Arabs prefer what happened in Rhodesia/Zimbabwe. Recently an article in jnewswire spoke of Peres being upset with Hamas. Perhaps it is not quite what you might think. Perhaps Peres was more then willing to work with the likes of a secular group like the PLO since they might be willing to treat the Jews like the Whites are treated in South Africa. However, Hamas is more likely to treat the non-Muslim like the Whites in Zimbabwe. Now that would be a whole different situation for the likes of many leftists.
Yet, even now that one can see the writing on the wall some anti-Jews Jews don’t care. They think that if they withdrawal into a tiny enclave all will be good. They fail to see that nothing will ever be enough. However, there is a tiny group that actually hate themselves so much that they actually want to wipe out every trace of Jewish People. They are willing to commit self-suicide to prove that there cannot be a Jewish People.
This comes to a key to understanding what is unfolding. Jews believe in the Bible and the prophecies contained in it. The Bible speaks of G-d’s unending protection of the Jewish People. It speaks of the “ingathering” that would take place around the time of the finial redemption. While there are some Jews do not see in Israel the fulfillment of these prophecies, many traditional Jews and Christians do. Therefore, if the Bible is proven wrong then these Judaism and Christianity will have a crisis. The far leftist self-hating Jews wants to rid the world of G-d. They see the destruction of Israel and the Jewish People as perhaps their best opportunity of achieving that goal.
Anyone, Jew or Christian, working against the Jewish Nation in the land of Zion is working for the end of Judo-Christian beliefs. Anything that brings Israel to an end will eventually be used as the central argument to disprove G-ds role in the world. In its place will be atheism on one side and Islam on the other. (Islam may be monotheistic, but it doesn’t have the centrality of the Jewish People.)
The cute part is that the battle between Atheism and Islam will make all other battles seem like child’s play.
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