It's the last day of Chanuka, so I couldn't resist the graphic.
Some 2,300 years after the Hasmonean's Chanuka military victory (caused by some miracles from God), Daniel Pipes argues it's time for another Jewish victory.
I propose an Israeli victory and a Palestinian defeat. That is to
say, Washington should encourage Israelis to take steps that cause
Mahmoud Abbas, Khaled Mashal, Saed Erekat, Hanan Ashrawi, and the rest
of that crew to realize that the gig is up, that no matter how many U.N.
resolutions are passed, their foul dream of eliminating the Jewish
state is defunct, that Israel is permanent, strong, and tough. After the
leadership recognizes this reality, the Palestinian population at large
will follow, as will eventually other Arab and Muslim states, leading
to a resolution of the conflict. Palestinians will gain by finally being
released from a cult of death to focus instead on building their own
policy, society, economy, and culture.
While the incoming Trump administration’s Middle East policies remain
obscure, President-elect Trump himself vociferously opposed Resolution
2334 and has signaled (for example, by his choice of David M. Friedman
as ambassador to Israel) that he is open to a dramatically new approach
to the conflict, one far more favorable to Israel than Barack Obama’s.
With his lifelong pursuit of winning (“We will have so much winning if I
get elected that you may get bored with winning”), Trump would probably
be drawn to an approach that has our side win and the other side lose.
Victory also suits the current mood of Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin
Netanyahu. He’s not just furious at being abandoned in the United
Nations, he has an ambitious vision of Israel’s global importance.
Further, his being photographed recently carrying a copy of historian
John David Lewis’s Nothing Less than Victory: Decisive Wars and the
Lessons of History signals that he is explicitly thinking in terms of
victory in war: Lewis in his book looks at six case studies, concluding
that in each of them “the tide of war turned when one side tasted defeat
and its will to continue, rather than stiffening, collapsed.”
Finally, the moment is right in terms of the larger trends of
regional politics. That the Obama administration effectively became an
ally of the Islamic Republic of Iran scared Sunni Arab states, Saudi
Arabia at the fore, into being far more realistic than ever before;
needing Israel for the first time, the “Palestine” issue has lost some
of its salience, and Arab conceits about Israel as the arch enemy have
been to some extent abandoned, creating an unprecedented potential
flexibility.
It's come to this: Saudi editorial blasts Abu Mazen for not responding positively to Netanyahu invitation
It's finally happened. A major Sunni Arab country has told Abu Bluff where to get off. And it's a big one: It's 'our friends, the Saudis.'
The editorial, published Sunday in the Saudi Gazette, a daily published
in Jeddah that has a woman editor-in-chief, seemed to depart in tone
from the widely-held position in the Arab world that Israel is
responsible for the impasse with the Palestinians. It likened
Netanyahu’s proposal that the two leaders address each other’s
parliaments, to Prime Minister Menachem Begin’s 1977 invitation to
Egyptian president Anwar Sadat to visit Israel, and implied it could
also lead to a breakthrough. Begin made the invitation “and the rest is
history,’’ the editorial said.
“For all its shortcomings, Camp
David demonstrated that negotiations with Israel were possible and that
progress could be made through sustained efforts at communication and
cooperation,’’ it added.
As another example of how “official
visits can bend the arc of history’’ the paper cited then-US President
Bill Clinton’s 1998 visit to the Gaza Strip to address the Palestinian
National Council on the day it deleted clauses calling for the
destruction of Israel from the PLO charter.
Well, except that deletion had not legal effect, but let's leave that for now.
The editorial said that Palestinians had rejected overtures from
Netanyahu with the explanation that his hard-line position on all core
issues made dialogue impossible.
“But the Palestinians should note that at that time, Egypt and Israel were mortal enemies having fought three wars.’’
The
editorial went on to second guess the Arab world for rejecting Camp
David, saying “in hindsight if the provisions had been carried out,
Israel and the Palestinians might not be in the impasse they are at
present.’’ Saudi Arabia was a leader of the Arab opposition to Camp
David.
'Moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen sent 'Palestinian' Christian mouthpiece Hanan Ashrawi out to respond.
‘’Whoever wrote this editorial is totally unaware of the reality of
this so-called invitation,’’ said PLO spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi. “It is
a very obvious public relations trick that’s been overused. If
Netanyahu wants peace, let him abide by the requirements of
international law, the two-state solution and the 1967 boundaries.’’
...
Ashrawi took issue with the analogy to Egyptian-Israeli peacemaking.
“It’s not a question of Egypt and Israel, two countries that wanted to
make peace, it’s a question of an occupying force that is destroying the
other state and it’s about people under occupation who have no right
and no power.’’
Funny. I don't recall Begin or Sadat imposing any preconditions... and I am old enough to remember.
Ashrawi said she thinks that “below the surface there are contacts
[between Israel and Saudi Arabia] and all sorts of security
considerations and Israel is positioning itself to be a regional
power.’’ But she added: “No matter what happens, they won’t recognize or
normalize with Israel because it hasn’t respected Palestinian rights
and international law. Once the Palestinian issue is resolved things
can move. Before that they might have secret contacts, but they can’t
afford to lose their own constituency.’’
Except that the 'Palestinians' have made the 'Palestinian issue' impossible to resolve by rejecting any form of compromise.
Here's betting that Abu Mazen and Ashrawi go to their graves without seeing any kind of compromise or 'Palestinian state.'
Palestinian leader Hanan Ashrawi is attacking a recent statement by US President Barack Obama to the New York Times as "dangerous" because in it According to Ashrawi, "speaking about the Jews' return to their land" is "extremist Zionist ideology."
Obama 'personally' pressuring Netanyahu to accept Kerry proposal
The New York Times reports that US President Hussein Obama is 'personally' pressuring Prime Minister Netanyahu to accept US Secretary of State John FN Kerry's 'framework' proposal.
“Now is a very timely opportunity for him to get involved,” a senior
official said of Mr. Obama, speaking on the condition of anonymity
because of the delicacy of the issue. If the two sides agree to the
framework, which would set out general terms on issues like Israel’s
security and the borders of a future Palestinian state, the negotiations
could be extended, with a new target of completing a treaty by the end
of 2014.
That's because those are areas where only Israel can make concessions. Left unresolved would be keeping 'Palestinian refugees' out of Israel and 'Palestinian' recognition of Israel as the Jewish state. If the 'framework' only resolves these points, what incentive do the 'Palestinians' have to make any concessions?
The challenge for the White House has been to redeploy the president
only when it is believed he can make a critical difference. With Mr.
Kerry’s self-imposed deadline nearing, and with little indication that
Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas have resolved key differences, that moment
is now, the officials said. “The president wouldn’t want to run any risk
that it was the lack of his involvement that would make the difference
between success and failure,” a senior official said.
They don't really think anyone in Israel trusts Obama, do they?
It
is far from clear, however, that Mr. Obama can pull off what has so far
eluded his secretary of state — not to mention several of his Oval
Office predecessors. While Mr. Kerry and his special envoy, Martin S.
Indyk, have held intensive meetings with Israelis and Palestinians in
recent days, the two sides have not met face to face for weeks. That
suggests, analysts say, that there has been scant progress in closing
some of the core differences, like the status of Jerusalem or the
contours of a new Palestinian state. It is difficult to know the exact
status of the talks because the participants have largely kept a promise
not to air the details publicly.
Skeptics
say Mr. Kerry’s decision to opt for a framework is itself a sort of
concession — or at best, a way to buy time. Some worry that if Mr. Obama
puts his prestige on the line to coax approval for an interim step, he
will have less leverage to push through a final deal.
Administration
officials said the framework will cover all the major final-status
issues, though Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Abbas will be able to express
reservations about individual provisions, so long, an official said, “as
they don’t vitiate the framework.”
Israel Radio reported this morning that the US is pressuring Netanyahu not to state his reservations, and that Netanyahu might just say he has reservations about the entire framework. That would accomplish nothing for either the framework or for Israel. Even Hanan Ashrawi agrees.
A
framework that allowed each side to voice reservations, she said, would
be “self-negating,” adding, “It will be a nondocument.” Any document
not based firmly on international law, she said, “will become a box of
chocolates: You can pick and choose what you want.”
Ms.
Ashrawi did not say the Palestinian Authority would actually reject the
framework, if it came to that. But she asked: “Why have it? Is it just
to maintain a semblance of progress? Is it meant to buy more time? Or is
it not to admit we have failed?”
All of the above. The fear here is that once Kerry's useless effort officially fails, Israel will pay the price in violence and murder from the 'Palestinians.'
"If Hamas wants to kidnap Israeli soldiers, they should go ahead and
kidnap Israeli soldiers," Rajoub stated earlier this month in a live PA
television broadcast. "They should kidnap them if [the Israelis] refuse
to release more prisoners, if they want to keep them imprisoned forever -
only releasing them as ghosts or skeletons."
"The Israelis need to understand," Rajoub declared. "It is obvious that kidnapping is a language they understand."
"If anything, we encourage Hamas to kidnap Israeli soldiers," he
continued. "When they kidnapped [Gilad] Shalit, we welcomed it. When
they performed the Shalit [prisoner exchange] deal, we had some
reservations about it, but we welcomed it too."
But that kind of statement doesn't stop the insufferable Hanan Ashrawi from claiming that Israel is 'inciting' against the 'Palestinians.'
The Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency reported that
Ashrawi’s accusations were made during a meeting in Ramallah with a
delegation from the American J Street organization.
Ashrawi briefed the delegation on "the latest political developments,
the ongoing negotiations, and Israel's violations of international law
and their impact on prospects for peace and on the region," according to
a statement quoted by Ma’an.
"Israel is willfully sabotaging U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's
efforts and using the negotiations as a cover to continue with its
illegal settlement activities, particularly in and around Jerusalem, and
the theft of Palestinian lands and resources, among other violations,"
she charged.
"The Jewish American community, particularly as represented by J
Street, faces the dual challenge of influencing both the U.S.
administration and the hardline and extremist Israeli government; for
there to be peace and stability, we must move rapidly," she added.
Ashrawi also reiterated the PA’s demands that any successful peace
agreement must include the establishment of a Palestinian state along
the indefensible pre-1967 borders with its capital in eastern Jerusalem,
a "just solution" to the Palestinian refugee question and the
"beginning of the dismantlement of settlements and outposts and the
implementation of the Palestinian people's inalienable rights to freedom
and sovereignty."
And the 'international community,' including much of world Jewry, continues its willful blindness to the 'Palestinians' duplicity....
'Palestinians' criticize Kerry proposals as 'Israeli ideas'
The 'Palestinian' leadership has gone ballistic over the ideas presented by US Secretary of State Kerry, dismissing them as 'Israeli ideas.'
US Secretary of State John Kerry’s proposals are Israeli ideas that
the Palestinian Authority cannot accept, PLO Secretary-General Yasser
Abed Rabbo said on Thursday.
Abed Rabbo said he cannot accept the
proposals mainly because it remains unclear when Israel would pull out
of the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Kerry’s proposals offer the Palestinians “general and vague”
formulas about the fate of Jerusalem, Abed Rabbo said in a broadcast on
the Voice of Palestine radio station.
The proposals also call for
“slicing” parts of the Jordan Valley and making them part of Israel,
and scrapping the “right of return” for Palestinian refugees, the PLO
official said.
Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO Executive
Committee, denied reports that the PA leadership had agreed to a
gradual Israeli withdrawal over a period of three years.
These reports were untrue and hurt the higher interests of the Palestinians, Ashrawi said.
Tawfik
Tirawi, a top Fatah official and former PA security commander, said
that Kerry’s proposals were completely unacceptable to the
Palestinians.
“We don’t want framework agreements, but a final solution,” Tirawi told reporters in Ramallah.
He criticized Kerry for offering the Palestinians a capital in the villages of Abu Dis and al-Ram, and not in Jerusalem.
Tirawi said that Kerrry’s proposals do not offer a solution to the issue of the refugees.
“This means that we cannot accept these ideas,” he said. “We will pay a heavy price.”
At what point will Kerry figure out that the only thing that's acceptable to the 'Palestinians' is for Israel to dismantle itself?
'Palestinians' may declare 'peace talks' a failure or Abu Mazen may meet with Netanyahu
Good afternoon from Boston where I collapsed over my computer last night and the morning did not quite go as planned. By the way, if anyone knows how to score tickets for Sunday's Game 2 of the ALCS, please email me.
Last night it was reported that the 'Palestinians' were considering declaring the 'peace talks' a failure (did anyone ever think they'd be anything but?), as they accused Israel of seeking to 'win time' through the talks.
Hanna Amireh, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, said that this
was one of the scenarios that were discussed during the last meeting of
the Palestinian leadership.
Amireh accused Israel of seeking to “win time” and blame the Palestinians for the failure of the US-sponsored talks.
Israel,
he said, is benefiting from the prolonged negotiations in order to
“impose more facts on the ground and dictate the outcome of the talks.”
Amireh
criticized Justice Minister Tzipi Livni for stating that the talks with
the Palestinians may extend beyond the nine- month deadline set by the
US Administration.
He said that Livini’s remarks were in violation of the agreement reached with the Americans.
The two sides met for the 9th time since July in Jerusalem on Wednesday, and Israel refused to comment on the meeting. Of course, the 'negotiations' won't take more than nine months since Israel will just give in on everything....
About an hour ago, Khaled Abu Toameh reported that 'Moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen 'might' agree to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
The official was quoted by the Palestinian Quds Net News Agency as
saying that Abbas has dropped his previous pre-conditions for holding a
summit with Netanyahu.
The official did not specify the nature of
the pre-conditions. Abbas had said in the past that he did not want a
meeting with Netanyahu to serve as a photo-up opportunity that would
serve Israel's interests alone.
"The US Administration played a
big role in exerting pressure on Abbas to agree to a meeting with
Netanyahu," the official disclosed. "We expect the meeting to take place
in Jerusalem in the next few days."
In response, a source in
Abbas's office said it was "premature" to talk about a summit between
the two. The source acknowledged that Washington had suggested to Abbas
to meet with Netanyahu in the context of efforts to boost the peace
process.
Meanwhile, PLO Executive Committee member Hanan Ashrawi added her voice to those calling on the PA leadership to pull out of the peace talks with Israel.
"There
is no benefit in the negotiations after the force of occupation emptied
them from their goal," Ashrawi said in a statement.
She accused Israel of seeking to destroy the prospects for peace and the two-state solution.
I would not hold my breath waiting for that meeting to happen. But I don't think that the 'Palestinians' will rush to declare the talks a failure either.
'Palestinians' seethe: Kerry asks EU to delay 'settlement guidelines'
In light of the ongoing 'negotiations' between Israel and the 'Palestinians,' US Secretary of State John Kerry has asked the European Union to delay the 'settlement guidelines' that would force Israel to exclude Judea and Samaria residents from all European projects. The 'Palestinians' are seething.
On Saturday, US Secretary of State John Kerry asked EU
foreign ministers who met in Vilnius, Lithuania to delay any action on the
matter given that direct talks were renewed between Israel and the Palestinian
Authority at the end of July.
At a briefing with reporters prior to the
meeting, a senior state department official said, “The secretary’s message to
the EU foreign ministers will be very clear, that now that the parties are in
negotiations and both leaders took difficult and painful – politically painful
decisions in order to get into these direct negotiations – that it’s important
for those parties who have an interest in a successful outcome that they be
supportive of this effort and that they find a way to embrace the negotiators
and encourage them to move forward, rather than, as it were metaphorically, bang
them over the head.”
When asked about Kerry’s request at a press
conference after the meeting, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said, “I
want to reiterate the issue of the guidelines, that this is putting down on
paper what is currently the EU’s position.” She added, “We will be sending a
team to Israel on Monday... to make sure that in the implementation, we are
doing so sensitively.
...
PLO executive committee member Dr. Hanan
Ashrawi expressed concern over Kerry’s request to the EU.
“The
announcement of the EU guidelines was a very positive step which played a
significant role in the decision to resume negotiations. By refusing to extend
grants and awards beyond the Green Line, these guidelines reinforce the 1967
border and play a constructive role in reaffirming the two-state solution,
something which can only help the cause of peace.
“Reports of US lobbying the EU
on behalf of Israel are extremely discouraging and cast serious doubts on the US
mediation role,” Ashrawi added. “Once again the US is using the negotiations
process to grant Israel immunity and to buy it more time to create facts on the
ground, thereby rendering the so-called ‘peace process’ a self-defeating
exercise.”
How does one 'sensitively' put a knife to a patient without anesthesia?
I agree that the 'so-called peace process' is a 'self-defeating exercise,' but that's because in the last 20 years the 'Palestinians' have never made a single concession.
Tourism plummeted in 2011 with the fall of President Hosni Mubarak and
the unrest that followed. Some tourists have started to return, but
officials say they are mostly beachgoers rather than the more lucrative
cultural tourists who spend 10 days or more in Egypt, and spend
accordingly during once-in-a-lifetime vacations.
Every headline about a riot in Egypt deepens the crisis. Cairo has been
the hardest hit, with hotel occupancy falling to below 15 percent or
worse in parts of the city closest to protests, according to Hani
el-Shaer of the Egyptian Hotel Association. From Cairo, the hardship
ripples across the country, affecting taxi and horse carriage drivers,
boat operators, tour guides and store vendors.
“If something goes wrong in Cairo, tourists cancel the whole trip,” said Hisham Zaazou, Egypt’s minister of tourism.
There is no direct mention in the article that the repressive nature of
the Muslim Brotherhood government might be deterring tourists.
An editorial in the Washington Post warns New laws would cripple Egyptian democratic institutions:
The former, autocratic government of Hosni Mubarak sporadically sought
to repress NGOs, and the military regime that ruled the country in 2011
brought a criminal case against dozens of NGO employees, including a
number of U.S. citizens. The flare-up in U.S.-Egyptian relations was
defused when the Americans were allowed to leave the country, but the
criminal case has continued, with a verdict now set for June. While
saying that it is “determined to ensure that civil society is
empowered,” President Mohamed Morsi’s government has done nothing to
stop the criminal case; and now the legislative Shura Council, which is
dominated by the ruling party, is considering restrictions on NGOs that
go much further than those of the Mubarak government.
The editorial board of the Washington Post was originally supportive of
the government, seeing anything to be better than Mubarak or the
military. It's good to see, however belatedly, that they're recognizing
the nature of the new government.
So what's important for Egypt? Prosecuting a comedian. The New York Times reports Diplomatic Incident Arises Over Egyptian Comedian:
The comedian, Bassem Youssef, is being investigated by Egyptian
prosecutors for statements he made on his popular television program, in
which he was accused of insulting President Mohamed Morsi, denigrating
Islam and disturbing public peace. On Sunday, prosecutors questioned him
for hours, releasing him after he posted bail.
Human rights advocates and critics of Mr. Morsi’s framed the
investigation as a part of a wider crackdown on free expression, and
questioned why, given the long list of Egypt’s post-uprising crises, the
government was wasting resources investigating comedy skits. Mr. Morsi
has said the public prosecutor, whom he appointed, was acting
independently after citizens complained about Mr. Youssef’s show.
On Monday, Victoria Nuland, the State Department spokeswoman, called the
arrest warrant served on Mr. Youssef and other activists “evidence of a
disturbing trend of growing restrictions on freedom of expression.”
Jon Stewart, mentioned later in the article - for comments made here - ties things better than I could hope to.
2) What deaths are worth acknowledging
Recently the New York Times ran an obituary of Mariam Farhat, known as "mother of martyrs." The obituary, written in plain, antiseptic English tells of Farhat's greatest accomplishments:
Ms. Farhat was elected to the Palestinian Legislative Council in 2006.
Four years earlier, her 17-year-old son, Mohammad, was shot to death
after he stormed an Israeli settlement with an automatic rifle and
explosives, killing five students. Shortly before the attack, Ms. Farhat
made a video in which she appeared with Mohammad to show support for
what he was about to do.
“I wish I had 100 boys like Mohammad,” she once said. “I’d sacrifice them for the sake of God.”
Two more of Ms. Farhat’s sons, Nidal and Rawad, were later killed in clashes with Israel.
Is this why she was deemed worthy of an obituary? Her distinction is
promoting death and violence. Lacking in this obituary in any sense of
moral outrage or judgment about this woman's views and actions.
The outrage is compounded by a death that the New York Times failed to
acknowledge. In response to the New York Times Magazine article that
called for a third "intifada," Frimet Roth wrote a letter to the New
York Times correcting the impression the article made about the
non-violent nature of the town that was the article's focus. Mrs. Roth wrote (h/t Daled Amos):
Ahlam Tamimi, the villager whom Ehrenreich described as a woman who
"escorted a suicide bomber", is in fact the self-confessed engineer and
planner of a bloody terrorist attack. By her own account and after
several scouting forays, Tamimi selected a target: the Sbarro restaurant
in the heart of Jerusalem, on a hot August afternoon in 2001.
Tamimi has said she chose it because she knew it would be teeming at the
appointed hour with women and children. She transported the bomb,
enhanced with nails and bolts to maximize the carnage, from Ramallah
across the Qalandia security checkpoint and into Israel’s capital.
Israeli soldiers still waved females through without inspection in those
days.
Tamimi and her weapon, the bomber, both dressed in Western garb and
chatting in English to appear as tourists, strolled through the city
center. At the entrance to Sbarro, she briefed him on where and when to
detonate, instructing that he wait 15 minutes to allow her a safe
getaway. Fifteen men, women and children were murdered that afternoon.
My teenage daughter Malki was among them. Ehrenreich, who writes warmly
about Nabi Saleh’s children, displays a cold detachment when relating to
the bombing’s victims, the youngest of whom was two years old: “Fifteen
people were killed, eight of them minors.”
Apparently a priority of the New York Times is to celebrate the life of a
remorselessly evil woman. Correcting a portrayal of a conscienceless
terrorist is not so important.
3) Miftah responds
After smearing Elder of Ziyon, the Palestinian NGO, Miftah, finally, sort of, apologized. Elder of Ziyon writes:
Indeed, Miftah has previously happily published the modern equivalents
of the blood libel, parroting false claims that Israeli Jews targeted
and stole organs from Palestinian Arabs, Ukrainians and Haitians. And
Miftah itself ridiculed the idea that such accusations are in any way
anti-semitic.
In other words, this apology rings hollow. But it was necessary, not
because Miftah cares about doing the right thing, but because it was
clearly under pressure from its donors to do something so as not to
embarrass them.
It has become clear to us after investigating this incident that the
article was accidentally and incorrectly published by a junior staff
member. The said staffer has been reprimanded and all our staff has been
informed as to the disgusting and repulsive phenomena of blood libel or
accusation, including its use against Jews. Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, as
founder, has nothing to do with the day to day management at MIFTAH and
was no way involved in this incident.
The game here is to protect the "moderate" reputation of Ashrawi. After
denying any wrongdoing, blaming a "junior staffer" is might convenient.
The problem is that despite here carefully cultivated image - aided and
abetted by international news organizations - Ashrawi is hardly
moderate.
In an e-mail, Barry Rubin pointed out to me that she had opposed
changing the Palestinian charter in 1996. Later that year, in a column, Charles Krauthammer wrote:
Two years later, upon signing the implementation accords (Oslo II) with
Shimon Peres, he promised he was really going to do it this time. He
didn't.
Things were getting embarrassing. With the Israeli elections approaching
last May and Shimon Peres needing to show that he was not being taken
for a fool, Arafat called a meeting of the Palestine National Council to
change the charter. Despite what you might have read in the press, it
still didn't.
What the PNC did was vote to establish a committee that would report
back in six months with changes to the charter. (Hanan Ashrawi,
America's favorite Palestinian "moderate," voted against even this
farcically modest step. Has anyone in the fawning American media ever
asked her about this vote?) That was April 24. It's been two months now
since the deadline passed, and not a word has been heard about this
committee.
Here a "junior staffer" has taken the fall and Ashrawi has been
distanced from the incident, helping to maintain the illusion of her
moderation. Of course the main reason Miftah receives thousands of
dollars in international funding is because of its association with
Ashrawi.
But then Miftah itself isn't moderate and its apology is transparent
buck passing. If Miftah was really concerned about blood libels it would
be busy fighting those libels that appear regularly in the Palestinian media.
Elder of Ziyon has provided an important service. If nothing else he forced Miftah to worry about its ill gotten largesse.
The apology says "We are whole-heartedly committed to fighting racism,
hatemongering, discrimination and persecution of any kind wherever it
should exist, and especially in our own society."
Yet the original offensive article was written and published in Arabic.Two days later, Miftah's Arabic website shows no indication of regret, apology or condemnation of the classic blood libel against Jews that it published. Readers of the Arabic website have only been exposed to the original blood libel article and to Miftah's justification for it
but they have not been informed by NGO that claims to "fight
hatemongering" that there was anything wrong about the original article.
(In fact, their attack against me and original justification for the
blood libel article as part of "its mandate for open dialogue" remains on its website as well. Was that also written by a "junior staff member"?)
As we saw back in the days of Yasir Arafat, saying one thing in English
and another in Arabic is a classic way to appease the West while keeping
the status quo to the intended audience.
Unfortunately, they waited until the 7th day of Passover to do it, so Elder of Ziyon, who broke the story, will likely not even have seen the story yet when the holiday ends in the US after sundown on Tuesday, but Hanan Ashrawi's Miftah, which receives massive western funding, has finally apologized for the blood libel against Jews that was published on the group's website (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).
This is from the third link.
Miftah at first defended its right to post the article in a statement titled, “MIFTAH denounces smear campaign against it.”
“The obscure pro-Israeli website ‘The Elder of Ziyon’ has wrongly
accused MIFTAH and Dr. Ashrawi of promoting Jewish blood libel during
Passover through its publication of an Arabic-language article that
briefly addressed the subject,” the defense stated.
The article was about promoting dialogue, Miftah maintained.
“The disclaimer at the opening of the ‘News and Analysis’ section
clearly states that, ‘The views represented in [News and Analysis] are
solely those of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the views
of MIFTAH but rather fulfill its mandate for open dialogue,’ ” the
statement continued.
...
Miftah on Monday recalibrated its position, issuing a full apology and blaming a low-level staffer for the situation.
“It has become clear to us after investigating this incident that the
article was accidentally and incorrectly published by a junior staff
member,” the apology stated. “The said staffer has been reprimanded and
all our staff has been informed as to the disgusting and repulsive
phenomena of blood libel or accusation, including its use against Jews.”
“Dr. Hanan Ashrawi, as founder, has nothing to do with the day to day
management at MIFTAH and was no way involved in this incident,” the
apology maintained.
I don't buy the 'low-level staffer' nonsense. Name me one 'Palestinian' organization that is not tightly controlled by the people behind it. I can't believe that Hanan Ashrawi didn't know about this article until it was published.
Second, if it was truly 'accidentally and incorrectly published,' why did the apology take so long and require so much condemnation of the article before it was issued?
Third, note the one thing they don't admit: That the article itself was a blood libel.
And by the way, when was the last time you saw a blood libel about anyone other than Jews?
PLO 'moderate' Hanan Ashrawi's group claims Jews use Christian blood for Passover
MIFTAH, a group whose Secretary General is none other than PLO National Council member Hanan Ashrawi, has published an article that claims that Jews use Christian blood for Passover.
Al-Zaru asks:
Does Obama in fact know the relationship, for example, between "Passover" and "Christian blood" ..?!
Or "Passover" and "Jewish blood rituals..?!
Much of the chatter and gossip about historical Jewish blood rituals in Europe are real and not fake as they claim; the Jews used the blood of Christians in the Jewish Passover ...
He then quotes a 2007 Haaretz article
on a book by a Bar-Ilan University professor that bizarrely claimed
that a few blood libels could have had a basis in fact, without noting
that the same professor recanted those claims a year later.
The upshot is that a journal run by "moderate" Hanan Ashrawi is pushing
the Passover blood libel, and you will be hard pressed to find a
"moderate" Arab condemning this article. I couldn't.
Unfortunately, CNN won't think to ask her about this the next time they trot her out on TV.
Folks, this is classic, classic anti-Semitism. Anyone who thinks these people are suddenly going to live in peace with Israelis when this is how they think is simply fooling himself.
“We call on the EU to hold Israel accountable for its illegal
occupation of Palestine, reconsider its political and trade relations
with Israel and agreements, including the EU-Israel Association
agreement, implement a ban on Israeli settler products and extremist
settlers, and rescue the chances for peace and the establishment of an
independent Palestinian state based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem
as its capital,” Ashrawi said.
Specifically, she condemned Israel
for "settlement activities and the rise of settler violence," as well as
"the blatant attack on Palestinian security forces, the raiding and plundering of the offices of Palestinian NGOs and civil society organizations, and the increase in home demolitions.”
Israeli soldiers raided the offices
of three civil society organizations on Tuesday in the heart of
Ramallah, wrenching open the doors of the Women's Union, the Palestinian
NGO Network and Addameer, an advocate for Palestinians in Israeli
jails, confiscating five computers from the latter group.
In Monday's statement, European Union foreign ministers said that all of the body’s agreements with Israel only applied to the pre-1967 lines.
A diplomatic source told The Jerusalem Post
that he feared some of the language in the council statement was placed
there to lay the groundwork for labelling and possibly banning
settlement products in the future.
If there's been an 'increase in home demolitions,' I've seen nothing about it so I question that one. And while I have no knowledge about those NGO's, 'an advocate for 'Palestinians' in Israeli jails' is an advocate for terrorists.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman hit back at the Europeans.
"We already went
through this Europe at the end of the 30s, in the 40s. They are
sacrificing all their values in favor of their interests. Even then, in
the 40s they knew what was going on with the concentration camps, to the
Jews, and they didn't exactly act," Liberman said.
Very undiplomatic, but very true. And 'didn't exactly act' is an understatement. Most of Europe collaborated with the Nazis.
SO WHY has Ashrawi chosen to risk looking petulant, dishonest and stone-hearted in refusing to speak the truth about the Jewish refugees? Because the paramount object of Palestinian politics remains the nullification of Jewish statehood. Since World War II, the plight of refugees the world over has been alleviated by resettlement rather than repatriation.
But compensation has often been a feature of such resettlement. As a result, resettlement of Palestinian refugees not only lacks enticement but the compensation of Jewish refugees this would encompass heralds danger.
Till now, Arab countries have combined risibly low levels of material support with high levels of vocal support for Palestinian refugees and their millions of warehoused descendants. But if Arab states are called upon to pick up the tab for their depredations against their historic Jewish communities as part of a peace settlement, this could abruptly change and the regional pressure on Israel to concede to implacable Palestinian demands like the legally baseless “right of return” might abruptly end.
Thomas, 91, who was forced into retirement two years ago after making controversial remarks about Jews and Israel, was recognized for her journalism career and commitment to the Palestinian cause. Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Executive Committee of the PLO, presented Thomas with the award on behalf of Abbas, who is also head of the PLO.
According to the Washington PLO office’s statement, Thomas was recognized for “all of her actions supporting Palestine in the West.” Ambassadors, journalists, human rights activists and American Arab leaders were among those who attended the ceremony at the home of Maen Rashid Ereikat, president of the Commission General of the PLO in Washington.
Considered the dean of the White House press corps, Thomas became embroiled in controversy when she said in a 2010 interview with the blog RabbiLive.com that Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine. Go home, Poland, Germany and America and everywhere else.”
She was slammed by both sides of the political spectrum. Later that year Thomas, who was a correspondent since the presidency of John F. Kennedy, stood by her original comments and accused Jewish lobbyists and politicians of distorting her remarks.
Helen Thomas and Hanan Ashrawi on stage together? Enough to drive a Democrat wild....
In an earlier post, I mentioned the 'Palestinian' struggle to stay relevant. It is perhaps indicative of how irrelevant the 'Palestinians' have suddenly become, that this post has been pushed back by several hours by much more urgent news (and may yet be pushed back more since Prime Minister Netanyahu is meeting with President Obama as I type this). The World's spoiled children don't like being relegated to irrelevance. So they are throwing a tantrum. This time, their target is President Obama's speech at AIPAC on Sunday (as an aside - Obama should have devoted the entire speech to Iran and then the 'Palestinians' would have nothing to criticize, but Obama kept his friend Ali Abunimah happy by spending way too much time on the 'Palestinians' before he got to Iran).
Palestinian Authority chief negotiator Saeb Erekat on Monday expressed disappointment at US President Barack Obama's address to the AIPAC annual policy conference on Sunday.
"This speech is part of Obama’s election campaign," Erekat said in an interview with the Palestinian Ma'an News Agency.
In a speech devoted largely to the Iranian threat, Obama reiterated his opposition to the Palestinians' unilateral efforts for recognition at the United Nations and emphasized that any Palestinian partner for peace must "recognize Israel’s right to exist, and reject violence, and adhere to existing agreements."
"Unfortunately, the speech ignored the requirements for peace as it did not touch on urging Israel to accept the two-state solution, halt settlement activities, and stop imposing facts on the ground," Erekat stated.
Saeb, go wash some more bottles. Even Netanyahu accepted the 'two-state solution' nearly three years ago. But life goes on Saeb. You and your friends have missed the boat. A 'Palestinian state' is well on its way to irrelevance.
"President Obama's statements aren't only disappointing, but also lack a vision for the future of peace," PLO Executive Committee Member Hanan Ashrawi said. "It was clear to everyone that his speech was a campaign speech."
Speaking to reporters in Ramallah, Ashrawi expressed misgivings over the US' ability to broker peace in the region, reproving the Obama administration for "doing everything to please Israel."
Obama has been the most pro-'Palestinian' President ever, and the United States is the only country with which even a modicum of trust exists on both sides. Whom does Ashrawi propose replace it? I wonder what the 'Palestinians' will say if Santorum or Gingrich replaces Obama and then there is no one who is willing to listen to their whining in Washington.
The politician also voiced concern about the discourse between the US and Israel over Iran's nuclear program, warning that the threats that dominate the conversation could have dire consequences.
"It's easy to start a military adventure, but it would be very difficult to contain it," she said.
BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Who does Ashrawi think will stop Iran? Does she thing that if Iran - God forbid - nukes Israel, the 'Palestinians' can hide in their mosques (yes, I know she's Christian) and escape?
And another quote from Saeb:
"Regardless of the content of Netanyahu and Obama's conversation, the peace issue and the two state solution will remain the central topic that must be addressed," he added, alluding to reports that the Washington meeting is to revolve around Iran's nuclear development.
And again: 'Palestinians' refuse to return to the damned table
Once again, the 'Palestinians' have refused to return to the negotiating table.
PLO Executive Committee member and Palestinian lawmaker, Hanan Ashrawi, Tuesday stressed to Quartet representative, Tony Blair, that unless Israel refrains from all illegal settlement activities and commits to 1967 borders, the Palestinian people will not return to negotiations, said a statement released by her office.
During Ashrawi’s meeting with Blair, she emphasized that the failure to hold Israel accountable is thwarting the possibility of any future Palestinian state.
“With its stepped-up illegal settlement campaign and continued efforts to create facts on the ground, Israel is undermining any and all efforts to stimulate peace,” she said.
Ashrawi called on the Quartet to hold Israel accountable, demand that it cease and desist all settlement activities and support the Palestinian peaceful diplomatic efforts to achieve a viable, independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital
“The Quartet must learn from the mistakes of the past and change its current course of action before it is too late. Such efforts must include terms of reference, legality and unyielding objectives,” said Ashrawi.
Of course. Why should the 'Palestinians' return to the negotiating table when, with the help of the morons in the 'quartet,' they are getting everything they want away from the table?
Video: Hanan Ashrawi talks about 'Palestinians' delay in 'statehood' vote
Here's 'Palestinian' spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi talking about the possibility that a vote on 'Palestinian statehood' may be delayed.
Let's go to the videotape.
Note that she says that it's been '63 years since Israel was created on Palestinian land.' Yes, she too believes that the 'occupation' starts from 1948 and not from 1967.
Still looking for a 'Palestinian' leader who accepts Israel's right to exist.
Note too how she ignores 'Palestinian' terrorism.
By the way, I was noticing while watching Obama that he's really gone gray.
Erekat: 'Obama told us he will veto UN statehood bid'
Former 'Palestinian' chief negotiatorbottle washer Saeb Erekat has told the 'Palestinian' newspaper al-Ayyam that in talks last week with the 'Palestinian Authority,' the Obama administration told the 'Palestinians' that it will veto any attempt at a unilateral declaration of 'statehood' in the UN Security Council. According to a report on the interview by Israel Radio, the 'Palestinians' were told that 'negotiations' are the only way to a two-state solution.
That's consistent with a statement issued on Tuesday at a press conference by US President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday he and German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed that any Palestinian effort to seek UN recognition for statehood should be avoided.
Obama, who was reiterating his own position on the issue, was speaking at a news conference after White House talks with Merkel.
Obama has said in the past that a unilateral UN recognition of an independent Palestinian state would be a meaningless empty gesture.
During Tuesday's news conference, Merkel stressed that "unilateral measures are not helping at all" to bring about a two-state solution.
"People do not negotiate their right to statehood. Rather, this is an inherent right," a PLO official lashed out Wednesday in the wake of US and German statements demanding Palestinian officials abort plans to seek UN recognition of statehood.
"Far from acting unilaterally, Palestinians are bringing their case for statehood before the United Nations, the world’s preeminent multilateral body. Self-determination and respect for the sovereignty of nations are principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter, making the UN a natural forum to resolve this issue," Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization's Executive Committee said in a statement.
People who seek to establish a state to replace another state do not have an inherent right to do so. And the 'Palestinians' are neither a nation (they are Arabs and are not distinct from the inhabitants of the 22 Arab countries) nor do they have sovereignty.
Meanwhile, the 'Palestinians' have set yet another obstacle to 'negotiations,' with Erekat himself insisting that an Israeli 'settlement freeze' is a precondition to resuming talks over a 'Palestinian reichlet.
I guess those talks in Paris aren't going to happen either.
UPDATE 11:38 AM
JPost is now reporting Erekat's comments on his meeting with Obama.
The Arabs know well how to hate the Jewish state, but when push comes to shove they would all rather live here than live under 'Palestinian' - or for that matter any other Arab - rule. A nephew of Hamas 'Prime Minister' Ismail Haniyeh (the nominal ruler of Gaza) serves in the IDF because his mother and her two sisters - Haniyeh's three sisters - are all Israeli citizens. And that's just the start.
In fact, recent events in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain, Oman, Libya, Syria (and you ain't seen nothing yet…) have enhanced the craving in the Arab Street for the liberties and benefits of Israel's democracy.
For example, Israeli ID cards have been sought by senior PLO and Hamas officials and their relatives, such as the three sisters of Ismail Haniyeh, the top leader of Hamas. They married Israeli Arabs and migrated from Gaza to Tel Sheva in Israel's Negev. Two are already widows, but prefer to remain in the Jewish State, and the son of the third sister serves in the Israeli Defense Forces.
Akrameh Sabri, the top Muslim religious leader in eastern Jerusalem, who delivers anti-Semitic and pro-terrorist sermons, retains his Israeli ID card as do Hanan Ashrawi of the PLO, Muhammad Abu-Tir of Hamas, Jibril Rajoub's wife, etc.
Some 150,000 non-Israeli Arabs, mostly from Judea and Samaria, married Israeli Arabs and received Israeli ID cards between 1993 and 2003. In addition, scores of thousands of illegal Arab aliens prefer Israeli – over Palestinian – residence.
A significant wave of net-emigration - 30,000 Arabs from Judea, Samaria and Gaza annually - since 1950 was substantially reduced in 1968, as a result of access gained to Israel's infrastructures of employment, medicine and education, and of Israeli construction of such infrastructures in these regions. The level of annual Arab emigration subsided during the peak years of Aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel), since Arabs were heavily employed in constructing the absorption infrastructure.
Israeli Arabs vehemently oppose any settlement – such as an exchange of land between Israel and the Palestinian Authority - which would transform them into Palestinian subjects, denying them Israeli citizenship.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
