In his address to the gala opening of the Presidential Conference in Jerusalem, PM Netanyahu called on Palestinian President to renew peace negotiations. "Tell your people that the time has come to end this conflict; tell them that the time has come for two nations to live side-by-side in peace and security. I believe that peace with the Palestinians is possible, but that requires brave leadership on both sides".
Nice words. Nice words? Nice chattering. Had our Prime Minister meant a single word of what he said, he should at the same time have addressed the settlers and exhibited a brave leadership. He should have told them something like this: "Ladies and Gentlemen, your story is over. There will be no more construction in the settlements, not a single building more – it is a waste of money. Moreover, start packing your belongings and prepare for getting out of the territory – unless you are ready to become citizens of Palestine".
Everybody knows that without a dismantling of settlements there will be no State of Palestine – and without a state of Palestine, there can be no peace, either. Everybody knows it – even the chattering Netanyhau.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Those nasty Turks
What a chutzpah! Turkey cancelled the joint exercises with the air force of Israel. They are just not willing to let the planes which killed hundreds of civilians in Gaza come to hold exercises over Turkish territory. For fifty years, ever since Ben Gurion's time, the state of Israel had worked so hard to establish and maintain political and economic and military ties with Turkey. And in a single month of bombings over Gaza, all that has been destroyed? Commentators on the Israeli media express shock: Why do we deserve this? Why?
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Paying back the loan
Dear Mr. President, the Nobel Peace Prize you have gotten is like an advance payment, a loan on which you have hardly started paying off the first instalment.
On several occasions you have declared that, as far as you are concerned, the ending of Israeli occupation and the creation of a Palestinian state is neither lip service nor empty rhetoric, but a real and concrete goal to be achieved during your present term in the White House. In fact, you and your aides repeatedly mentioned a specific time frame: during the year 2011. To achieve that - as you must be fully aware - it would not be enough to restrain the settlements nor even to freeze them. Quite a lot of dismantling will have to be done, too. When the free and sovereign State of Palestine is created and signs peace with the state of Israel, then – at least as far as I am concerned - you will have fully earned your Nobel Prize.
Get to work, Mr. President, and good luck!
On several occasions you have declared that, as far as you are concerned, the ending of Israeli occupation and the creation of a Palestinian state is neither lip service nor empty rhetoric, but a real and concrete goal to be achieved during your present term in the White House. In fact, you and your aides repeatedly mentioned a specific time frame: during the year 2011. To achieve that - as you must be fully aware - it would not be enough to restrain the settlements nor even to freeze them. Quite a lot of dismantling will have to be done, too. When the free and sovereign State of Palestine is created and signs peace with the state of Israel, then – at least as far as I am concerned - you will have fully earned your Nobel Prize.
Get to work, Mr. President, and good luck!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Who is the inciter here?
Exactly two months ago a man named Yehoshua Tor, who heads a body known as "The Movement for Restoration of the Temple", said the following: "There, at the top of Temple Mount, there is a foreskin which should be removed. The Temple will arise in place of that boil, full of pus". So he said, about the mosques which are holy to a billion Muslims all over the world. So he said, and nobody cried "Incitement". No minister demanded the outlawing of him and of his movement. Nobody even took care to implement a government decision from 2003, by which this man lives in an illegal settlement outpost (in the South Hebron Hills) which the government is obliged to remove.
A band of extremists with an implausible, mad, twisted dream? Unquestionably. But in the past forty two years, it happened more than once that this kind of crazy bands got the full support of the IDF, and the Israel Police, and all government ministries, in implementing their crazy dreams and crazy ideas right there on the ground. Not so far from the Temple Mount there is the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarah, where such a band of crazies came in the middle of the night and with the full support and protection of the police threw two (Palestinian) families out into the street and took over their homes. Even closer to Temple Mount is Silwan Village, the place which settlers call "City of David", where settlers are digging deep into the earth, and undermine the homes of their Palestinian neighbors, and nobody really knows where and how far they are digging.
In short: When Arabs and Muslims are worried about these extremist groups and their crazy plans, these fears are far from unreasoned or baseless. It is not just paranoia and certainly more than manipulation. But when somebody comes to cry out "Al Aqsa is in danger!" the Government of Israel immediately comprehends what it means, Hurrah, hurrah, we have found the inciter!
Israel fears violence following arrest of Islamic Movement head
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1119366.htm
Islamic leader tells Haaretz Temple Mount clashes won't end until occupation of Jerusalem does
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1119115.html
WATCH Organizer admits City of David endangers Arab homes
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1118883.html
Yehoshua Tor speaks frankly
http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART1/925/672.html
A band of extremists with an implausible, mad, twisted dream? Unquestionably. But in the past forty two years, it happened more than once that this kind of crazy bands got the full support of the IDF, and the Israel Police, and all government ministries, in implementing their crazy dreams and crazy ideas right there on the ground. Not so far from the Temple Mount there is the neighborhood of Sheikh Jarah, where such a band of crazies came in the middle of the night and with the full support and protection of the police threw two (Palestinian) families out into the street and took over their homes. Even closer to Temple Mount is Silwan Village, the place which settlers call "City of David", where settlers are digging deep into the earth, and undermine the homes of their Palestinian neighbors, and nobody really knows where and how far they are digging.
In short: When Arabs and Muslims are worried about these extremist groups and their crazy plans, these fears are far from unreasoned or baseless. It is not just paranoia and certainly more than manipulation. But when somebody comes to cry out "Al Aqsa is in danger!" the Government of Israel immediately comprehends what it means, Hurrah, hurrah, we have found the inciter!
Israel fears violence following arrest of Islamic Movement head
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1119366.htm
Islamic leader tells Haaretz Temple Mount clashes won't end until occupation of Jerusalem does
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1119115.html
WATCH Organizer admits City of David endangers Arab homes
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1118883.html
Yehoshua Tor speaks frankly
http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART1/925/672.html
Monday, October 5, 2009
From one to forty-nine
As all Israeli governments have said since 1967, and as PM Netanyahu reiterated a few weeks ago, Israel is committed to the freedom of religious worship in Jerusalem.
This week, like so often before, the Jerusalem Police forbade Muslims aged less than fifty to pray in the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Jerusalem Police also detailed large forces to safeguard the prayers of Jews at the Wailing Wall, for whom no age limitations were set.
Yes, there is freedom of religious worship in Jerusalem – but sometimes you have to wait until you are fifty…
This week, like so often before, the Jerusalem Police forbade Muslims aged less than fifty to pray in the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
The Jerusalem Police also detailed large forces to safeguard the prayers of Jews at the Wailing Wall, for whom no age limitations were set.
Yes, there is freedom of religious worship in Jerusalem – but sometimes you have to wait until you are fifty…
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Born to be free
Release him - now!
Because this young man, who stands prolonged detention with so much courage and dignity, deserves to be free. Because three years and three months are long enough and far too long. Because the state of Israel which sent him to the border of Gaza must bring him back, with no further delay. Because on this issue the people in Israel are united, more than on anything else. Because his whole country wants Gil'ad Shalit back home with his family.
Release them - now!
Because his whole country wants Gil'ad Shalit back home with his family. Because there can never be peace while Israel's prisons and detention camps are full of thousands of Palestinian prisoners. Because there is hardly any Palestinian family which did not have a member in prison at some time in the past forty two years. Because Menachem Begin and Yitzchak Shamir had also been called terrorists. Because their whole people wants the Palestinian prisoners back home with their families.
Friday, October 2, 2009
If only...
"The Goldstone Report endangers peace" said Prime Minister Netanyahu. Why? "When we disengaged from Gaza, we thought that the world would let us use self-defence. If it does not, we can't take any more risks for peace".
Translation to plain English: "If you don't give us a free hand to bomb the West Bank after we have withdrawn from there, to bomb, to kill and to destroy, we will just not withdraw".
And, with that permission you would? Really, Mr Prime Minister? From the whole West Bank?
Translation to plain English: "If you don't give us a free hand to bomb the West Bank after we have withdrawn from there, to bomb, to kill and to destroy, we will just not withdraw".
And, with that permission you would? Really, Mr Prime Minister? From the whole West Bank?
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