In Congress on Tuesday the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu effectively denied the possibility of a Palestinian state, while producing the now familiar catalog of Israeli Government propaganda. How his position is really different from the old Hamas position (which he knows has changed) I do not really know. Except that Israel has the fifth largest army in the world, is the third biggest arms exporter and has 400 nuclear weapons, so I suppose the difference is that his government has the means to actually destroy the possibility of a Palestinian state. Netanyah's speech reminds me of Tom Lehar who said that giving Henry Kissinger the Nobel peace prize made political satire obsolete. Netanyah lied and distorted in a full Congress, to rounds of applause from genuinely enthusiastic Senators while talking about peace, democracy and even God, and nobody seems to have really noticed. Expect I must say for one remarkably brave Jewish woman. See a transcipt of the speech in the previous posting.
The central sections in the speech, in terms of actual position in the speech and meaning, were these:
" It's not easy, because I recognize that in a genuine peace, we'll be required to give up parts of the ancestral Jewish homeland. And you have to understand this: In Judea and Samaria, the Jewish people are not foreign occupiers. (Cheers, applause.) [Note: Judea and Samaria means the West Bank]
We're not the British in India. We're not the Belgians in the Congo. This is the land of our forefathers, the land of Israel, to which Abraham brought the idea of one God, where David set out to confront Goliath, and where Isaiah saw his vision of eternal peace. No distortion of history -- and boy am I reading a lot of distortions of history lately, old and new -- no distortion of history could deny the 4,000-year-old bond between the Jewish people and the Jewish land. (Sustained applause.)
But there is another truth. The Palestinians share this small land with us. (Applause.) We seek a peace in which they'll be neither Israel's subjects nor its citizens. They should enjoy a national life of dignity as a free, viable and independent people living in their own state. (Applause.) They should enjoy a prosperous economy, where their creativity and initiative can flourish."
The first paragraph states that all of Israel-Palestine belongs to the Jewish people. The second paragraph appeals to the 45% of Americans who insult themselves and God by actually believing in the literal truth of every word in the Bible. The third paragraph only acknowledges the existence of the Palestinians, and wishes them a future in their own state somewhere. I am sorry to sound inflammatory, but he is talking about Palestinian land. He talks as if no one was there between the 2nd and 20th centuries. What can satire do, when politicians are talking such absurd "no sense", and nobody seems to notice?
The truth is that Israel controls 80% of Israel-Palestine. In the West Bank the settlements already control 85% of the water resources, which in a semi-arid area is of absolute importance. [Note: This is why the Golan Heights matters so much to Syria] Later on he talks about "We'll be generous about the size of the future Palestinian state." Where? He talks nonsense about the distribution of settlers on the West Bank, which is crisscrossed throughout by "settler only" roads. Israel is currently building a nationwide road hub which fully integrates these settler roads in the West Bank. Construction speaks louder than speeches.
He then gives a rosy picture of economic development in the West Bank which is a huge distortion. Followed by the official story that Palestinians have been offered real peace many times in the past but have refused it, and so peace has not been possible because:
" Because so far, the Palestinians have been unwilling to accept a Palestinian state if it meant accepting a Jewish state alongside it.
You see, our conflict has never been about the establishment of a Palestinian state; it's always been about the existence of the Jewish state. (Applause.) This is what this conflict is about. (Extended applause.)"
Two questions. 1. In a Jewish State what will happen to the 1.5 million Israeli Palestinian Arabs? Israeli politicians like the leader of the opposition Tzipi Livni have already spoken of transferring them out of Israel to any newly established Palestinian State (which will in reality be a series of disconnected refugee camps on waste ground on the West Bank which is wholly controlled by Israel). In this speech quoted above he says "We seek a peace in which they'll [Palestinians] be neither Israel's subjects nor its citizens." 2. Where is or where will be the Palestinian State that Israeli politicians say that they recognize?
This is like a bully playing with words, while demanding that his victim apologizes for being beaten up. Israeli and our Western politicians must say that they believe that Jews and Palestinians have EQUAL RIGHTS. If either live in a country where there rights are protected then they should stay there, while if not it is up to West, whose Horrific Antisemitism and colonialism created this situation, to find a way to guarantee the equal rights of the rest. FULL STOP. Sorry to get bombastic.
He then goes on to say that:
" Jerusalem must never again be divided. (Applause.) Jerusalem must remain the united capital of Israel. (Applause.)"
What will happen about the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam (remember that gap 2nd to 20th century mentioned above) from which site the prophet Mohamed is said to have ascended into heaven? Where will the capital of the Palestinian state be, if not in East Jerusalem?
He then goes on to give the official distortion of the Gaza conflict, omitting the siege and the continual air strikes. Just as he began the speech with a description of the democratic rights of Israeli Palestinian Arabs. Who can elect a dozen MPs, but omitting that these are then ignored in the Knesset. Also omitting that they cannot peacefully demonstrate without being beaten up by the police. Some rights, but better than military rule by Israel in the occupied territories. [Note: Hence the much reported propaganda that 80% Palestinians would rather live in Israel proper that the territories.] He also talks about Iran and it's nuclear threat, a rare oasis of truth in an ocean of deceit. This deceit also includes hinting at the threat of Islamic Extremism in the Arab Democratic Uprising, which he claims to support. Shame on you Netanyahu.
He then speaks about the threat of Hamas' almost exclusively home made rockets to justify the following:
" But Israel under 1967 lines would be only nine miles wide. So much for strategic depth. So it's therefore vital -- absolutely vital -- that a Palestinian state be fully demilitarized, and it's vital -- absolutely vital -- that Israel maintain a long-term military presence along the Jordan River. (Applause.)"
This means the Palestinian State on the West bank would be fully surrounded by Israel. When Israel controls the borders and water supply of a physically divided, crowded and unarmed Palestinian State, who is going to provide for the security of the Palestinians against any demand that the Israelis make? This is completely absurd.
He then finishes with the biggest distortion of all....
"....I speak on behalf of the Jewish people and the Jewish state when I say to you, representatives of America: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you for your unwavering support for Israel. Thank you for ensuring that the flame of freedom burns bright throughout the world.
May God bless all of you, and may God forever bless the United States of America. (Cheers, extended applause.) "
He does not speak for the Jewish people or for all of the Israeli Jews. God does not approve of this ethnic cleansing. This is not an example of America defending freedom. Rather the response to his speech is a warning about the failing state of freedom in the USA. God help us.
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