Kislev 29, 5777
December 29, 2016
Happy 5th day of Chanukah! (image courtesy of rotter.net).
PALESTINIAN TERROR ON WEDNESDAY
*Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli security forces with “rocks” and Molotovs at such places as Krayot, Giv’on, Tekoa, Azaria, Jalazun, Hizma, Husan, A-Ram, Psagot, Issawiya, and Beit El.
*Palestinian terrorists targeted Israeli motorists and bus riders with “rocks” and Molotovs on Road 443, Abu Dis, Gush Etzion, Hawara,
*Palestinian terrorists threw IEDs at Rachel’s Tomb, and opened fire at on IDF soldiers in Jenin.
All told, according to our friends at hakolhayehudi, more than 20 terror attacks took place yesterday.
“Praise Muslims, Ignore Christians, Blame Jews”
In listening to the punditry today on television regarding UN Resolution 2334 and Secretary Kerry’s blisteringly anti-Israel speech, your humble servant was struck by Lt. Col. Ralph Peter’s concise six-word description of Obama Administration policy for the last eight years:
“Praise Muslims, Ignore Christians, Blame Jews”
How true.
On the other hand . . .
Your humble has also been struck with the vast amount of misinformation being disseminated in recent days by friends of Israel concerning the Resolution and speech.
Some of the misinformation has been minor. For example, numerous people (including John Kerry) have referred to the Katyusha rockets that were fired out of Gaza at southern Israel. Actually, Hezbollah fires Katyusha rockets at northern Israel while Hamas fires Qassam and Grad missiles at people in the south.
However, other misinformation is more substantial. Yesterday, I listened to an extremely popular radio program during which the host commented that “Israeli settlements are built in areas under Palestinian control.” The point of this comment was to show that there is peaceful interaction between Palestinians and Israelis. However, there are no Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria that are built in Areas A and B–the areas under Palestinian control. All of the Jewish communities (except for the special circumstance of Hevron) are located in Area C.
TODAY’S BLOG
10 Problems With John Kerry’s Settlement Rant
Today, we will undertake an analysis of the first half of Kerry’s speech, pointing out just how false Kerry’s comments and criticisms were (you can read the complete speech by clicking here).
Below are items that I have extracted along with my comments.
1. “[The two-state solution] is the only way to ensure Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state, living in peace and security with its neighbors.”
False. Israel will remain Jewish and democratic if the status quo is maintained. It will also remain Jewish and democratic if Israel annexes Area C. By the way, it is worthwhile remembering that the Palestinians already have two states: the one in Areas A and B of Judea and Samaria, and the one in Gaza.
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2. “[The two-state solution] is the only way to ensure a future of freedom and dignity for the Palestinian people.”
False. What is keeping Palestinians who live in Areas A and B and Palestinians living in Gaza from having freedom? The PLO and Hamas. What is keeping Palestinians from having dignity? Themselves.
3. “The vote in the United Nations was about preserving the two-state solution. That’s what we were standing up for.”
False. The vote in the United Nations was solely about blaming Israel for the failure of the peace process. The Obama Administration was standing up for nothing.
4. “In fact, this administration has been Israel’s greatest friend and supporter with an absolutely unwavering commitment to advancing Israel’s security and protecting its legitimacy. . . We have consistently supported Israel’s right to defend itself by itself, including during actions Gaza that sparked great controversy.”
False. Was American support of Resolution 2334 an example of unwavering support? Were continuous American castigations of Israel at the podiums of the White House and State Department during the last eight years examples of unwavering support? Was the denial of military resupplies during the 2014 Gaza war an example of unwavering support?
5. “The truth is that trends on the ground, violence, terrorism, incitement, settlement expansion and the seemingly endless occupation, they are combining to destroy hopes for peace on both sides and increasingly cementing an irreversible one state reality that most people do not actually want.”
A partial falsehood. Yes, terrorism and incitement have made people realize that a two-state solution [in the sense of going back to the 1949 armistice lines] is impossible. But what has also caused Israelis to reach this conclusion is multiple rejections of Israeli peace offers as well as a total Palestinian rejection of recognizing Israel as a Jewish state.
6. “But here is a fundamental reality, if the choice is one state, Israel can either be Jewish or Democratic, it cannot be both. And it won’t ever really be at peace.”
False. See number 1 above.
7. “President Obama and I have made it clear to the Palestinian leadership countless times, publicly and privately, that all incitements to violence must stop. We have consistently condemned violence and terrorism and even condemned the Palestinian leadership for not condemning it.”
Who knows if this is true? What we do know is that if this is true, no pressure has followed the condemnations. And what does Kerry want: a medal for verbally condemning the Palestinian leadership for not condemning the ongoing violence?
8. “The Israeli prime minister publicly supports a two-state solution. But his current coalition is the most right-wing in Israel history with an agenda driven by the most extreme elements.”
False. You want to talk about “right wing” coalitions? How about those of Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Shamir? Since when is it extreme to fight to save Israeli lives? The Obama Administration, like all those on the “left”, believes that anyone who does not agree with it is extreme.
9. “In fact, Israel has increasingly consolidated control over much of the west bank for its own purposes. Effectively reversing the transitions to greater Palestinian civil authority that was called for by the Oslo Accords.”
False. Israeli consolidated control over Area C of Judea and Samaria because of Palestinian violence. What was Israel supposed to do? Allow hundreds of terrorists to blow up thousands more Israeli men, women, and children? This is precisely why Area C of Judea and Samaria was never transitioned to the Palestinians as envisioned by the abominable Oslo Accords.
10. “Let’s be clear. Settlement expansion has nothing to do with Israel’s security.”
False. Israeli communities have everything to do with Israel’s security. Just look what happened when Israeli communities were uprooted from northern Gaza; Hamas quickly took control and launched thousands of missiles from where the communities once stood.
And the above 10 items were just in the first 30 minutes of a 70 minute speech.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.