Armageddon Days, or: Thoughts about Trump

I received this piece from my email-pal A***, who lives in California:

Hello Avner

It has been a long time since our last communication.

It looks like it has been a hectic time: a lot has occurred. Trump presidency has been full of action. I am sure that you are following the news. He had a lot of problems at the beginning but now it looks like his staff has somewhat stabilized. He has a lot of resistance from many parts of the government, and as you know he is still under investigation, but recently he has been involved in some bold decisions, like the bombing in Syria, and his last action in regards to the negotiation with N. Korea, and his bold act to exit the agreement with Iran. It looks to me that all of this could end very well, for the US and the rest of the world.

So what is new with you? How are you doing at your work? As I understand the feeling in Israel must be very good now. What did you do for the independence day? It appears that Israel economy has been growing very nicely and I wonder what effect this has in the living standard in the country.

In the US the economy has picked up quite nicely, and the employment situation has been better like never before. However, it looks odd, that the salaries  have not been growing, as one would expect, which is a riddle. What is the situation in Israel in this respect?

So I wish you well, and would like to know how are you doing and what is happening is Israel.

(signed)

A***

To which I replied:

Hi A***,

I don't quite share your views about Trump, as well as the situation in Israel. But of course, I may be wrong (note: this is a phrase which is NEVER said by any conservative speaker - which I think is a major part of the problem). If I'm wrong, then I will admit it and will be very happy. As opposed to the speakers from the Right - I'm willing to put specific metrics to this statement.

In brief:

Trump has not yet achieved anything. Iran can only gain from the US exit from the agreement. The improvement of the US economy is mainly thanks to Obama's policy. Economy of this size cannot be turned over by 1.5 years of being in office.

Trump did not really make any difference in Syria - his order to bomb it was very minor. Israel has bombed Syria heavily, but nobody really knows how this will end - but this doesn't prevent the cheer leaders of Netanyahu (who are, at this moment, the entire Jewish population, like a bunch of miserable WWF viewers) to pump his approval rate. I think that he will be remembered as the worst Israeli PM ever - and mind you, there is a tough competition there.

I can't say anything about the future (I live that to the smart asses of the Right), but I can point out the past. Too many times in this region, military campaigns started with great enthusiasm and anticipation - just to end up as catastrophes.

I am doing well at work. The economy is only good for the upper 10% - 20% of Israelis, which includes my family so I shouldn't care. But I do care, because I think that the other 80% also count.

So in short, I foresee a catastrophe, and if I'm proven wrong, I will be very happy.

Take care and hand in there.

Cheers,
Avner E.

The Demagogues Hit (Again)

Here is another thread of a discussion I had with a hard-to-get-it guy.

The conversation commenced with the following piece about a horrible terror attack in a Jewish settlement.

The scene of Friday night’s terror attack in Halamish. Photo Credit: Israel "Defense" (my quotes... A.E.) Forces

http://blogs.timesofisrael. com/the-world-must-see-this-2/

The world must see this

by Eli Rubenstein, JULY 22, 2017

The picture below is the scene of Friday night’s terror attack in Neve

Tzuf, a small Israeli town in the Judean Hills. What started as a

family Shabbat dinner left a father, son, and daughter dead and a

mother in critical condition after a teenage Palestinian terrorist

entered the home and began stabbing the family members while children

hid in a closet. Were it not for the miracle of an IDF soldier nearby

who neutralized the terrorist, the incident would have been much more

horrific than it already is.

The world must see this picture; a picture which, in another reality

at the same time and place could have shown a family enjoying their

Shabbat dinner. Instead, you see blood from terror victims covering

the kitchen floor.

The world must see how this terrorist will be venerated in Palestinian

society. When word broke of the attack in Gaza, celebrations took

place in the street. Soon, his family will start receiving payments

from the Palestinian Authority, which in 2016 payed $170 million to

terrorists and their families. Maybe, years from now, he will have a

square named after him, like Khaled Nazzal, who killed 26 Israelis

after taking schoolchildren and their teachers hostage in the Ma’alot

Massacre, or Dalal Mughrabi, who killed 38 civilians after hijacking

two buses and throwing grenades at cars passing by.

The world must realize how the terrorist, a young person who at one

point must have had hopes and dreams like everyone else, could lead

himself to murder an Israeli family in cold blood. The reason he did

this is not because of “occupation” or metal detectors at the Temple

Mount. The reason this attack occurred is because the Palestinian

leadership injects hatred into its citizens from the day they are

born. It is because the Palestinian leadership knows that such a

corrupt regime as itself can only survive by placing blame for their

problems on the Jews and perpetuating a cycle of violence. Palestinian

children learn in textbooks that they must grow up to be martyrs in

order to create a Palestinian state free of Jews. When they go home,

they watch shows like Pioneers of Tomorrow, where the hosts like

Nahoul the Bee and Assud the Rabbit die because of Israel. In Assud’s

debut show, his brother Nahoul died because he was sick and was unable

to get medical treatment. Assud and the child host pledge to “liberate

al-Aqsa from the filth of those Zionists,” while Assud tells a young

caller that he will eat Jews. In a later episode, Assud dies from an

Israeli airstrike, but not before being sentenced by viewers to have

his hand cut off for stealing.

The world must understand that Palestinian leaders have fostered a

culture of death. They have brainwashed their people to believe that

the source of their problems is the Jews, rather than their own failed

leadership. Instead of building a country, they have kept their people

living in a state of perpetual victimhood, encouraging their youth to

launch rockets and martyr themselves instead of building

infrastructure and creating jobs for their people.

The world must realize that they too are responsible for this. The

Arab countries have kept Palestinians in refugee camps and denied them

equal rights, while the United Nations has done nothing but perpetuate

this problem my making them the only group of refugees in the world

that passes down their refugee status to the next generation. This

helps them continue promoting the issue of a ‘Right of Return’ and

provides fuel to the anti-Israel cause. The Western World has largely

turned a blind eye to Palestinian extremism, instead preferring to

chastise Israel for building homes and demand Israel allow the

creation of a terror state within its borders.

The world must see this picture, the blood of a dead family covering

the floor of their kitchen, because it speaks volumes about the

current situation. It is time to stop pretending that Israel has a

partner for peace, because it does not. While this was done under the

guise of protesting metal detectors at the Temple Mount, it is much

more than that – it is the culmination of years of incitement by

Palestinian leaders and years of the world turning a blind eye.

The world must see this, because the world must see the truth.

(end of piece)

This was my reply:

On Mon, Jul 24, 2017 at 4:52 PM, Avner Efendowicz <avnerefe@yahoo.com> wrote:

Neve Tsuf is a settlement in the occupied territories. The Israeli occupation is the MOST violent action in the conflict. So it's not just an innocent "Shabbat Dinner" (still, the killing is horrible indeed).

What the world must see is the terrible conditions of the people living in Gaza and elsewhere under the Israeli oppression.

Cheers,
Avner E.

The state of Tel Aviv

A chat I had: Boycott Israel

I had a little chat with a scholar presented in an email to me, as a "non-Jewish Scottish professor". Dr. Denis MacEoin is an expert in Middle Eastern affairs and was a senior editor of the Middle East Quarterly. He wrote this letter to his students, of The Edinburgh Student's Association to boycott all things Israeli, in which they claim Israel is under an apartheid regime.

Dr. MacEoin's blog: http://mid-eastplus.blogspot.co.il/



TO: The Committee Edinburgh University Student Association.

May I be permitted to say a few words to members of the EUSA?  I am an Edinburgh graduate (MA 1975) who studied Persian, Arabic and Islamic History in Buccleuch Place under William Montgomery Watt and Laurence Elwell Sutton, two of Britain 's great Middle East experts in their day.  I later went on to do a PhD at Cambridge and to teach Arabic and Islamic Studies at Newcastle University .  Naturally, I am the author of several books and hundreds of articles in this field.  I say all that to show that I am well informed in Middle Eastern affairs and that, for that reason, I am shocked and disheartened by the EUSAmotion and vote.

I am shocked for a simple reason: there is not and has never been a system of apartheid in Israel .  That is not my opinion, that is fact that can be tested against reality by any Edinburgh student, should he or she choose to visit Israel to see for themselves.  Let me spell this out, since I have the impression that those members of EUSA who voted for this motion are absolutely clueless in matters concerning Israel, and that they are, in all likelihood, the victims of extremely biased propaganda coming from the anti-Israel lobby.

Being anti-Israel is not in itself objectionable.  But I'm not talking about ordinary criticism of Israel.  I'm speaking of a hatred that permits itself no boundaries in the lies and myths it pours out.  Thus, Israel is repeatedly referred to as a "Nazi" state.  In what sense is this true, even as a metaphor?  Where are the Israeli concentration camps?  The einzatsgruppen?  The SS?  The Nuremberg Laws?  The Final Solution?  None of these things nor anything remotely resembling them exists in Israel, precisely because the Jews, more than anyone on earth, understand what Nazism stood for.

It is claimed that there has been an Israeli Holocaust in Gaza (or elsewhere).  Where?  When?  No honest historian would treat that claim with anything but the contempt it deserves.  But calling Jews Nazis and saying they have committed a Holocaust is as basic a way to subvert historical fact as anything I can think of.

Likewise apartheid.  For apartheid to exist, there would have to be a situation that closely resembled how things were in South Africa under the apartheid regime.  Unfortunately for those who believe this, a weekend in any part of Israel would be enough to show how ridiculous the claim is.

That a body of university students actually fell for this and voted on it is a sad comment on the state of modern education.  The most obvious focus for apartheid would be the country's 20% Arab population.  Under Israeli law, Arab Israelis have exactly the same rights as Jews or anyone else; Muslims have the same rights as Jews or Christians; Baha'is, severely persecuted in Iran, flourish in Israel, where they have their world center; Ahmadi Muslims, severely persecuted in Pakistan and elsewhere, are kept safe by Israel; the holy places of all religions are protected under a specific Israeli law.  Arabs form 20% of the university population (an exact echo of their percentage in the general population).

In Iran, the Bahai's (the largest religious minority) are forbidden to study in any university or to run their own universities: why aren't your members boycotting Iran?  Arabs in Israel can go anywhere they want, unlike blacks in apartheid South Africa.  They use public transport, they eat in restaurants, they go to swimming pools, they use libraries, they go to cinemas alongside Jews - something no blacks were able to do in South Africa.

Israeli hospitals not only treat Jews and Arabs, they also treat Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank.  On the same wards, in the same operating theatres.

In Israel , women have the same rights as men: there is no gender apartheid.  Gay men and women face no restrictions, and Palestinian gays often escape into Israel, knowing they may be killed at home.

It seems bizarre to me that LGBT groups call for a boycott of Israel and say nothing about countries like Iran , where gay men are hanged or stoned to death.  That illustrates a Mindset that beggars belief.

Intelligent students thinking it's better to be silent about regimes that kill gay people, but good to condemn the only country in the Middle East that rescues and protects gay people.  Is that supposed to be a sick joke?

University is supposed to be about learning to use your brain, to think rationally, to examine evidence, to reach conclusions based on solid evidence, to compare sources, to weigh up one view against one or more others.  If the best Edinburgh can now produce are students who have no idea how to do any of these things, then the future is bleak.

I do not object to well-documented criticism of Israel .  I do object when supposedly intelligent people single the Jewish state out above states that are horrific in their treatment of their populations.  We are going through the biggest upheaval in the Middle East since the 7th and 8th centuries, and it's clear that Arabs and Iranians are rebelling against terrifying regimes that fight back by killing their own citizens.

Israeli citizens, Jews and Arabs alike, do not rebel (though they are free to protest).  Yet Edinburgh students mount no demonstrations and call for no boycotts against Libya, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Iran.  They prefer to make false accusations against one of the world's freest countries, the only country in the Middle East that has taken in Darfur refugees, the only country in the Middle East that gives refuge to gay men and women, the only country in the Middle East that protects the Bahai's...  Need I go on?

The imbalance is perceptible, and it sheds no credit on anyone who voted for this boycott.  I ask you to show some common sense.  Get information from the Israeli embassy.  Ask for some speakers.  Listen to more than one side.  Do not make your minds up until you have given a fair hearing to both parties.  You have a duty to your students, and that is to protect them from one-sided argument.

They are not at university to be propagandized.  And they are certainly not there to be tricked into anti-Semitism by punishing one country among all the countries of the world, which happens to be the only Jewish state.  If there had been a single Jewish state in the 1930's (which, sadly, there was not), don't you think Adolf Hitler would have decided to boycott it?

Your generation has a duty to ensure that the perennial racism of anti-Semitism never sets down roots among you.  Today, however, there are clear signs that it has done so and is putting down more.  You have a chance to avert a very great evil, simply by using reason and a sense of fair play.  Please tell me that this makes sense.  I have given you some of the evidence.  It's up to you to find out more.

Yours sincerely,

Denis MacEoin



I wrote to Dr. MacEoin:

One can be a very well educated scholar, and yet be ignorant about the state of his own research.
Who said that Israel was a Nazi state? All we said was that there are some Judo-Nazis in Israel, which is true. Did the police manage to catch the (presumable Jewish) murderers of Ali (18 month old) and his father Saad Dawabsha? No. If the killers were Arabs, you can be sure they would have been caught in a few days.

Yes, PM Netanyahu visited the remaining of the Arab family, and promised to catch the killers. Being Israelis, we all know quite well what Netanyahu's promises are worth.

Israel is an apartheid state - I'm willing to be honest enough to admit that this is not a fact, but it's my own interpretation. But it's based on every reasonable standard. In my opinion, no counter-propaganda can refute this.

If this legitimate criticism of (not Israel, but the Israeli government) is regarded anti-Semitism, them I don't believe there is any anti-Semitism in the world, beyond the regular racism to any race other that the Jews.

I encourage Scottish students to go ahead and boycott everything Israeli, to save my country from its evil government. Thank you!

Cheers,
Avner E.

What do we do with those Palestinians?!

Or: More Answers to Ms. Max Coutinho

Dear Ms. Coutinho,

Your knowledge of history of the region is remarkable indeed, and I’m not going to compete with it. If I believed that the solution to the Zionist-Palestinian conflict depended in any way on historical facts – then I would try to argue with you, something I see as fairly difficult, considering your level of education. But the truth is, that I don’t think that it matters much.

Here is why:

I think that after your educated and detailed comments, I understand your stance better. Basically, you are saying that, since the ancestors of the current Palestinians had lousy and corrupt leaders (a fact that stems, in my opinion, from the way that Western powers partitioned the area, but that’s a different argument), and that they legally did not have a right for their own state in what is now known as the Land of Israel – these facts dictate that they must be displaced from their homes in the West Bank into Gaza Strip, or Sinai, or Jordan.

For the sake of the argument, let us just assume that from a morality and justice point of view, you are correct. This is what ought to be done! And we must insist, and keep fighting the entire hypocritical international community, and the entire Muslim world (or the part which pays attention to this conflict – not a billion people, but a fairly large amount of people) – until they agree to move, or until we have the political and military power to force them to do so.

Now, usually I don’t distinguish between people living in or outside of Israel, regarding their political views. Everybody is entitled to his or her opinion, regardless of place of residence. However, in order to carry out such a project, it will take a lot of military manpower, fighting, deaths and injuries. In this case, I must ask you if you think that it is worth the cost, in: human lives, degradation of morality (or some risk thereof) – not to mention the conflict with the World communities – and also: are you willing to sacrifice your own children for this kind of struggle? I’m asking, because even inside my country, there is a vast inequality regarding the risk taken by different people, at times of war. My sons, as you already know, are on the combat side, and I’m not happy about this, because I don’t believe in the cause of fighting any more. But even for people who do believe in it, such as yourself – and I totally respect that – they are not always ready to take the personal consequences.

Please don’t misunderstand me – I am not a pacifist, and I am well aware that for a good cause, there are times when one must sacrifice a lot, sometimes his own life or the lives of his loved ones – you just don’t get what you deserve for free, in this world. The only question that I’m asking is: how many people do you think will be willing to participate in such a project (let me be straight: the displacement of about 2.7 million people (as of 2012), against their will, from their homes, where they have been living in predominantly rural areas – into high-rises in Gaza, or newly built cities and towns in the deserts of Sinai and Jordan)? – and are you or people you know, among them?

What I’m saying, to put it briefly, is that, regardless of what I think about the moral basis of this interesting project (and be sure that I have my thoughts) – it is completely impractical. Therefore, we (or shall I say, not me, but the Israelis, with the support of the Jewry around the world), are doomed to keep fighting against pretty powerful entities, for the foreseen future. And that’s not a very encouraging proposition. Let me tell you a little secret – I have the strong feeling, that within the majority of Jews in Israel, if they thought that this was what it took to keep the state of Israel going – there won’t be much support for this project.

p.s. I must say, that among all my friends from the Right wing, you are one of very few who took the challenge, and answered most honestly and with intellectual courage, the question which I see as the central in this argument: What do we do with the Palestinians today? – that is, regardless of the question where they came from, what is the legal meaning of the Balfour Declaration, etc. This is why I skipped the historical part, and went straight to the end.

With deepest respect,

Avner Efendowicz

Yet another answer to Ms. Max Coutinho

Dear Ms. Continho,

First, I must apologize to you, Ms. Continho, for not recognizing that you belonged to the better gender. I should have noticed this from your language, sorry about that…

To the point: the majority of Palestinians elected Hamas (in the Gaza Strip only!), not because the majority of Palestinians have become so fanatically religious or anti-peace (although the Israeli government is giving them all the reasons to be so), but – because Hamas, in addition to being a terrorist organization, is also a welfare organization and jobs provider. This is much like the Shas party of Israel, which is an ultra-orthodox, anti-democratic political party (they don’t allow women in their roster; they are being led by an orthodox Rabbi strictly according to the Jewish Halachic rules – or so they say, I wish that it was even partially true; etc.); their supporters are not necessarily religious at all (they are what we call “traditionalists”), but they still elected this party, for providing long education days with hot meals to their children, and jobs to the parents.

In short, electing Hamas doesn’t make the Palestinian public any less innocent, compared to the Israeli public which elected this evil and dishonest government.

As to your point, that Hamas are using innocent people as “human shields”: this is much like the Jewish settlers, who put their women and children’s lives at risk, by living in towns and villages provocatively built inside and far out in Palestinian territory. Not to mention, that the IDF (the Israeli military) is “cowardly using” (as you said about Hamas) local residents, uninvolved in combat, as human shields during search missions. This procedure was eventually banned by Israeli Supreme Court, but has been used nonetheless occasionally.

As for your (own) interpretation to the Declaration of San Remo: well it is, in my humble opinion, completely wrong. Here’s why: the November 2, 1917 declaration (known as “the Balfour Declaration”), upon which San Remo’s was based, called for “a national home for the Jewish people”, and as you rightly mentioned, must not “prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities”. If you are so meticulous in reading the civil and religious rights as not pertaining to “national aspirations”, then you must be just as meticulous as to acknowledge, that a “national home” does not necessarily mean an independent state! Because, although the Israeli government has long ago acknowledged the right of the Palestinian minority for self-government, it has always done its best to deprive them form giving this a political implementation, but rather fulfil this be some kind of “autonomy”, whatever that means. Don’t get me wrong, I am all for a Jewish State in the land of Israel; I have fought for it, and I brought my boys up to do the same. But if the 1917 declaration does not imply a state for the Palestinians, then honesty obliges that it does not imply a Jewish state, just as well. Not to mention, that the end goal, “to protect the civil and religious rights” as you said, has never been fully achieved – as an official government committee (the Or Committee, 2000) has clearly stated.

Fast forwarding to 1947: the UN resolution, taught in Jewish school as “calling for the establishment of a Jewish State”, actually called for establishing two states, Jewish and Palestinian, the last part omitted from the curriculum for some reason.

But I will give you that (something that the Right-wingers fail to do to us on the Left), that there could be an interpretation to the legal issue, which is different than mine. My point it simple: the legal situation is not what really matters (and this is what I meant by saying “irrelevant” in my post). Because, even if the Palestinians do not have the right for their own state, from the international law point of view – then what do we do with them? If we don’t give them full civil rights (which you actually agreed to do, and that includes the right to vote – which would lead to a Muslim Prime Minister pretty soon, and, in many people’s view – the end of the Zionist project) – if we don’t give them that and hold them as second-class residents, then Israel cannot be truly regarded as a democratic state. We can’t expel them, we can’t hold them occupied – so what do we do? The only answers I have heard so far from fellows in the Right are – Israel Trust in God almighty, or that we should just wait for them to learn to accept us and the wonderful life we generously give them here, or that they will just go away.

Regarding Apartheid: No, Ms. Continho, about 2 million Palestinians are NOT allowed to vote for the Israeli government. Can’t you see that you defeat your own argument? – You claim that the Palestinians do not deserve their own state, yet at the same time you exclude them from the Israeli public, when you claim that in Israel, everybody has the right to vote! So it’s either you are against a Palestinian State, which renders all Palestinians under Israeli control lack the basic right to control their own fate, or – you claim that voting is free for all in Israel, by which the occupied territories are excluded from Israel.

And regarding sexual relations – it is not illegal to have inter-race relationship; but almost anybody who will try to date somebody from the different religion will soon find out that it’s nearly impossible. For this, by the way, I blame both sides and not only the Jews.

For your knowledge, I do acknowledge “the fact that the Palestinians murder civilians”, and I don’t “refuse to criticize them for that poor approach”. In fact, in most Arab countries, thousands of people have been murdered and abused by their own people, and I attribute this to the poor moral standards in effect in those countries, especially in Syria but also some in Palestine. This by the way has nothing to do with Islam, but with the nasty and cruel regimes in those countries in modern times. In short, those who did it are primitive criminals, justifying their crimes by a distorted and inhuman interpretation of the Islam, a phenomenon which, I must say, is very common in the modern era in many Muslim societies. But this can’t justify killing civilians by individual Jews (like Dr. Baruch Goldstein, who is considered a martyr by a great part of the fundamental Jewish right wing), but also by the Israeli military!

I don’t know how you came to put this thought in my head and words in my keyboard, that I did not criticize the Arab side. This is either a remarkable demonstration of mind-reading (albeit totally wrong), or – a demagogic argument, very typical, I must say, to the right wing rhetoric.

To claim that “the international law says that this disputed piece of land belongs to the Jewish People, period” is nothing more than reducing the argument to a level that nobody can argue, because you, the knows-all, have put a period at the end of your sentence. If you had enough intellectual honesty, you would admit that this is just your own interpretation, which I do respect, but is just as good as the opposite one.

If you conclude by your interpretation to Ismail Haniah, that “the Palestinians do not want peace and they will never recognize the Jewish State” then you show another remarkable ability of predicting the future; and in seriousness – a not-so-remarkable manner by which you comprehend the situation, if you think that Haniah represents the majority of Palestinians.

With all due respect,

Avner Efendowicz

An Answer to Ms. Max Coutinho, on Israeli Occupation of Palestine

Dear Ms. Coutinho,

As before, I would like to address your claims one at a time, which necessitates a separate post. Please refer to my new post, following this comment.

I don’t argue the right of Israel to defend itself against enemies. In fact, I was a combat soldier and officer in the Israeli military, and so have been my two boys (one of them non-officer in fact). However, I can’t agree to your phrase “at all costs”, which may point out to immoral measures. Please clarify if this is not the case: does “at all costs” include the cost of the lives of innocent Palestinian people? Or you think that there are no innocent among them? Please clarify.

I am not focusing on one side only, I am well aware that some Palestinians have committed terrible crimes. I am just puzzled and taken by the fact that this is being abused by so many right-wing speakers, to justify the wrong doings of the Israeli (I should say actually, the Zionist side). One evil cannot justify another evil. And the actions of the Israeli government at this moment in history are evil, to a great extent. The definitely don’t “abide by international agreements” in many cases, for which I can give you a few examples.

According to the International Law, “the territories” are truly occupied. The may be “disputed” as for their political future, and there is no dispute among international legal entities that they have been occupied in a war, and therefore there is no freedom and protection of the law for all who are living there – only for the Jews. Did we mention Apartheid? What is Apartheid if not separate law for different people, based on their ethnicity? Further to that, even the greatest friend of Israel never recognized its right to build the settlements, and this is the reason that the US sees even the Capital of Israel as part of the Settlement system, which is why they won’t build their embassy there!

Yes, I have read the part of the Forth Geneva Convention which is relevant. There is a dispute if Israel has the right to build settlements in the occupied territories, according to that convention. Section 49 of the Convention states that an occupier cannot transfer people into the occupied territory. Israel has signed this document, but stated that it didn’t apply to the West Bank, because – well, because it never belonged to any country. Some excuse.

On top of all that, the Israeli government, this is my interpretation as a resident of this country), is using the Settlement system in order to prevent any possible future solution; so claiming that it has the right to settle there “until its final status is resolved” is a bitter irony. Even the Israeli supreme court has acknowledged that at least some of the settlements (such as “East Matityahu”) have been built to annex Palestinian territories, and not as the State claimed in court (which was refuted by military experts), that it was built for security reasons.

What I call “irrelevant” is not because I can’t explain it (as your demagogic rhetoric suggests), but because, if Palestinians lived in those territories 100 years, 1 year or one day before the Jews came in – is irrelevant; you can’t kick them out just because the ancient Romans kicked my ancestors out – that’s not the Palestinian’s fault.

Again, your assumption that I “get a sense of deep joy when you see young Arab boy throwing rocks at Israeli vehicles and murdering people” is just another sign of your demagogia. Can’t you criticize your government’s action without feeling joy when people are murdered?

By stating that I said “ the Jews have no claim to their own land” you are, again, putting in my mouth words which I never said (which is quite typical to right-wing advocates, I must say). Did I say that? Or did I say that there are two nations here who are fighting for a piece of land which most of them already agree that it can be shared (read the polls, and check out the Geneva Initiative: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Initiative

or The People's Voice: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_People%27s_Voice)

You will find there the same guidelines for any future solution which has been around for more than a decade now, but the Israeli government is constantly refusing even to have one discussion about it. Strangely enough, it is supported by the big majority of Jews and Palestinians (according to polls), but one of the most stable Israeli governments ever doesn’t acknowledge them! Strange you say? Absolutely, it’s one of the mysteries of Israeli politics. More on that in the next post on my blog.

לכבוד נשיא ארצות הברית של אמריקה, מר ברק אובמה

אדוני הנשיא

לרגל ביקורך בישראל בשבוע הבא, ולאור התכנית שהכינו לך מארחיך, ראוי שאשמיע באזניך כמה דברים שלא תשמע ממארחיך

ב-4 בנובמבר 2008, ביום ההיסטורי שבו נבחרת לנשיא, גרתי בארה"ב, אם כי לא הייתה לי זכות הצבעה. היום ההוא זכור לי כאחד המרגשים בחיי. ראיתי אנשים שחורים ולבנים ואסיאתים והיספנים, בוכים בדמעות, ומספרים שבחלומות הוורודים ביותר שלהם לא דימינו שיזכו לחיות ביום שבו נבחר נשיא שחור לאמריקה. הם הסבירו את תמיכתם בך לא רק בצבע עורך, אלא בעיקר במילותיך הנוסכות בהם תקווה ומעוררות בהם דחף עז לפעולה, לעשיית הטוב והצודק. אז הבנתי מה פירושה של השראה שמנהיג מעניק לציבור. מאז, סיפקת לי סיבות רבות להיות מרוצה מבחירתך: הצלחת להעביר את חוק הטיפול בר ההשגה, תיקנת בעמל רב חלק קטן מההרס הכלכלי שהשאירה משפחת בוש, תמכת בעקביות בהרחבת זכויות האזרח, המיעוטים, נישואים חד-מיניים, הפסקת הצביעות שבחקירות הבלתי חוקיות בגוונטאנמו; פעלת באומץ להתקרבות אל העולם המוסלמי, ועוד. אולם, בנושא אחד, הקרוב אלי במיוחד בהיותי אזרח ישראלי, נודעה לי אכזבה ממך. כוונתי להתייחסותך לישראל ולסכסוך הציוני-פלסטיני

אדוני הנשיא

ממשלות ישראל חיו מאז ומתמיד על התפר שבין זחיחות מתנשאת ויהירה, לבין בכיינות ילדותית; בין מאניה אופורית של ימות המשיח לבין דיפרסיה של פסימיות ויאוש. זאת מדינה שאזרחיה תובעים מממשלתם תחושה של ביטחון, על חשבון ביטחונם האמיתי; שהם לא מסתפקים בפחות מביטחון אישי מוחלט לכל אזרח (כאילו יש דבר כזה באיזושהי מדינה) – במחיר של הקרבת הביטחון הקולקטיבי, הכולל הבטחת העתיד, רווחה, בריאות וחינוך. שתושביה היהודיים טומנים את ראשם בחול לנוכח מה שמרחש במרחק הליכה מביתם, וחיים מפסטיבל לחגיגת סביאה כאילו המחר מצוי באגדות; הציבור הישראלי הוא אוסף של כישרונות מדהימים ואיים רחבים מאד של מצוינות, איים רחבים שכמעט מתחברים זה לזה, אבל זהו גם ציבור תועה ומבקש לעצמו הנהגה ראויה, וזו איננה. כל ציבור, ויהיה המוכשר ביותר (כולל למשל מרצים באוניברסיטה), זקוק להנהגה, ומי כמוך, מנהיג מופלא ומעניק השראה, יודע זאת. העם היהודי התברך בכישורים מופלאים בכל תחומי החיים, חוץ מהנהגה של מדינה. השיח הפוליטי בישראל מתאפיין בתערובת מוזרה ובלתי אפשרית של שיכרון כוח והתנשאות, עם חרדה קיומית מפני כל איושת רוח. אנחנו אומרים לכם האמריקאים, חזור ואמור: איננו זקוקים לעזרתכם, אנחנו חזקים ועומדים עצמאית על רגלינו, אבל אוי ואבוי לכם אם תעזו לקצץ בסיוע שלכם. אנחנו לא צריכים מכם טובות, עזבו אותנו בשקט, אבל שלא תעזו לנטוש אותנו בעת הצבעות נגדנו במועצת הביטחון

אני מבין את החשש שלכם, הממשל האמריקאי, מפני לחץ חזק מדי על ישראל. אתם "זקוקים לקול היהודי," אתם חוששים מפני התלכדות של הציבור הישראלי כאיש אחד כנגד כל לחץ, ואתם אינכם רוצים להשיג תגובת נגד, או את התוצאה ההפוכה. על כן עלי לומר לך, כבוד נשיא ארצות הברית: אל חשש! כבר אינך זקוק ל"קול היהודי" (אם יש דבר כזה – הרי שאז צודקים ה"אנטישמים!") כדי להיבחר; לעומת זאת, הקול הזה יהיה נתון למפלגתך ממילא, אם תעזור לישראל לחזור לעצמה ולערכיה היהודיים המקוריים. הציבור הישראלי ברובו הגדול איננו קיצוני, אינו מעריץ את מפעל ההתנחלויות, הוא הגיע כבר להכרה שהכיבוש משחית אותו, והוא בז ברובו למנהיגיו הקטנוניים, הנכלוליים והנהנתנים. הציבור הזה נתון כרגע בקיפאון של ייאוש, והראיה לכך – רוב הציבור הציוני תומך בפשרה משמעותית עם הפלסטינים, ויחד עם זאת מתלכד אחרי גוש המפלגות שמבטיח לא להתפשר לעולם! כיצד זה ייתכן? לדעתי, זוהי תסמונת מובהקת של ייאוש ופחד: לא תומכים בדרכו של הימין, אבל מתלכדים סביבו כי כדרכו של כל ימין, הוא יודע את מלאכת ההפחדה, והוא יודע לטעת אשליה של כוח. הציבור הישראלי חש בחוסר ההנהגה, ורק משום כך הוא מעדיף את המוכר ואת הידוע. הישראלים כיום מונעים בעיקר מיצר הישרדות, ומשיקולי תועלת קצרי-מועד. אילו רק התגלתה לציבור הזה מנהיג או מנהיגה כמוך, שהייתה מעניקה להם מעט השראה, חזון כלשהו, קצת תקווה – היה קם ברובו ומתנער, עם חלכה, והולך אחרי מנהיגתו באש וגם במים. אין לציבור הזה בעיה להתמודד עם קושי וסבל – בתנאי שהוא מוביל לעתיד טוב יותר. כדברי ניטשה: מי שיש לו בשביל מה, יכול לסבול כל 'איך'. אילו רק ידע הציבור, בחושיו התועלתניים, את מחירו של הסירוב, ושל הקיפאון, והעיקשות המטומטמת – הוא היה בועט במנהיגיו הישנים לכל רוח. לרובו של הציבור בישראל - גם בחלקים מהימין, גם בין החרדים, ובוודאי לערבים - אין כל עניין להמשיך לסבול למען שגעונותיו והפנטזיות של הימין המשיחי. תמיד יהיו הקיצוניים והפנאטים, שביהירותם הם משוכנעים שקול אלוהים מדבר מגרונם, וששיקולים ארציים הבל הם בעיניהם. אך הם במיעוט בארצי, תודה לאל. והרוב יוכל להביס אותם, גם אם יידרש לכך שימוש בכוח, חלילה (אני מעריך שיהיה צורך, לצערי). גם בארצך התחוללה מלחמת אזרחים נוראה, וסופה היה ניצחון הצדק והשוויון

על כן אני, כישראלי אוהב ארצו, החרד לעתיד המדינה שלו, כאב לשני בנים המשרתים בצבא ההגנה להתנחלויות, כאמריקאי לשעבר שחש את רוח ההיסטוריה ביום שנבחרת – אני מבקש ממך: אנא, בפעם הבאה שתובא למועצת הביטחון של האו"מ הצעה המגנה את ממשלת ישראל – אל תטיל וטו! הצבע בעד הגינוי. בעד השפיות, בעד הפיוס ההיסטורי ונגד הממשלה האנוכית, הסקטוריאלית והגטואית הזאת. בפעם הבאה שהציבור האמריקני ידרוש ממך קיצוץ בהוצאות כי נמאס לו לממן משטרים הזויים בזמן שלאמריקה יש חוב של 16 טריליון דולר – אל תחשוש לקצץ בסיוע המיותר לישראל, סיוע המאפשר לממשלתה להמשיך לממן התנחלויות מיותרות, בלתי צודקות ובלתי חוקיות (אפילו בעיני החוק הישראלי!) סיוע המממן ציבור של מיעוט, החי על חשבון קופת הציבור הישראלי ומשלמת המיסים האמריקנית, איננו מייצר דבר, עובד בעבודות מנהליות וטוען בחוצפה ישראלית שהוא ישראל האמיתית. מהלכים כאלה יזכו לקיתונות של ביקורת מפי מיעוטים צעקניים, אך גם לתמיכתו השקטה של הרוב השפוי, בישראל וגם בקהילה היהודית בארצך. לא קל יהיה לעמוד כנגד הפרץ והצווחה ההיסטריים; אך אני מאמין בך, שאתה מנהיג אמיתי, הרואה את טובת ארצו ולא את הישרדותו האישית בשלטון. לך בדרך זו, והאלוהים שבו אתה ואני מאמינים יהיה בעזרנו

אלוהים יברך אותך, את אמריקה, ואת אלה הרוצים בתעוזת התקווה ומאמינים בטוב ובשלום

מי כאן הבריון

בעקבות ההשתלטות של לוחמי השייטת על משט הסיוע לעזה, שוב נשטפת הארץ בגלים עכורים של פטריוטיות זולה. סיסמאות בנוסח "כולנו שייטת 13" ניבטות אלינו מפינות שונות בארץ. חשוב להבהיר, שעל האופניים שלי אין סטיקר כזה
ראשית, מפני שלא שירתתי בשייטת
שנית, מפני שבעיני, הפורעים והאלימים בסיפור הזה הם חיילי השייטת, ולא פעילי השלום שבאו לפרוץ את המצור הבלתי צודק על עזה

מאבקם לעצמאות של הפלסטינים, ושל תומכיהם ההולכים ומתרבים בעולם, הוא מאבק צודק על פי כל קנה מידה הגון ומוסרי, גם על פי המוסר היהודי. זאת, גם בהסתייגות המתבקשת, שהאמצעים שנוקטים חלק מהפלסטינים, הם נפשעים ובלתי מוצדקים. הטרור שמפעילות קבוצות שונות, שהפכו לאחרונה לקבוצות שוליים, איננו משנה את הצדק הבסיסי בדרישה של הפלסטינים להיות עם חופשי בארצם
מכאן נובע, שכל פעולה המגבילה את חירותם ושוללת את זכויותיהם של תושבי רצועת עזה, וזה כולל מצור ימי – איננה צודקת ואיננה מוסרית. לנוכח מצור כזה, מוצדק להתנגד, גם באלימות – למעט אלימות נגד אזרחים שאינם נושאים נשק. חיילי השייטת הם לוחמים מאומנים, וגם אם מישהו החליט בשבילם, משיקולים של תדמית בלבד, שלא להעלות נשק חם אל סיפון האוניה – הרי הם חיילים חמושים לכל דבר, שביכולתם להפעיל אלימות ואף להרוג, כפי שאכן עשו לצערנו הרב
לנוכח השתלטות בכוח על אוניה שמטרתה לפרוץ מצור בלתי צודק, יש לנוסעי האוניה כל זכות שבעולם להתנגד להשתלטות, גם בכוח. התקשורת בישראל, שהיא חופשית בימים רגילים אבל מתגייסת ל"שירות האומה" במצבי "חירום", התייצבה כאיש אחד, בניצוחו של דובר צה"ל, כדי ליצור מצג שווא. מי שצרך בימים אלה רק חדשות בעברית, קיבל את הרושם שנוסעי ספינות הסיוע ההומניטרי היו חמושים בנשק חם, ושכוונתם העיקרית הייתה להשתמש בו על מנת להרוג. בדרנים ודברנים המתחזים לעיתונאים, כמו הכתב הצבאי של הערוץ הראשון, רוני דניאל, תיארו את האירוע במילים "נשמעו יריות לעבר חיילי צה"ל, מה שמוכיח שעל הספינה היה נשק חם". מה שה"כתב" הזה שכח להזכיר הוא, שהנשק הזה נחטף מידי חיילי השייטת.
האמת היתה שונה בתכלית. האוניות היו עמוסות במצרכים חיוניים שנועדו לתושבי עזה, ולא היה על הספינה נשק חם. מקצת מנוסעי הספינה "מרמרה" אלה שהיו אמיצים ומיומנים דיים להתנגד להשתלטות הקטלנית של חיילי צה"ל, הצטיידו בכלי נשק פרימיטיביים, כמו אלות ומעט סכינים. איש לא ירה על חיילי צה"ל מנשק שהגיע בספינה. אכן, בעקבות תושייתם של קצתם של נוסעי הספינה, ובאומץ מדהים שכמעט שום אדם שאני מכיר לא היה מצליח לגייס – וזה כולל כמובן אותי – הם הצליחו לחטוף מספר כלי נשק מחיילי הקומנדו הקשוחים והמאומנים ביותר בעולם, ולהתנגד במשך זמן מה, תוך סיכון חיים וודאי.
באחד מאמצעי התקשורת שבחר לשמור על מידה של עצמאות, התפרסם ראיון עם אחד הפעילים, לוחם המארינס לשעבר
Kenneth O'Keefe
http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3901776,00.html
אוקיף סיפר ששלושה חיילים נשבו על ידי הנוסעים למשך כחצי שעה, דבר שהיה יכול להתפתח לפיגוע מיקוח מביך עד אימה מבחינתה של ממשלת ישראל – אלמלא שוחררו השלושה, ביוזמת נוסעי הספינה, ללא פגע. לנוכח הנכונות של המפגינים לסכן את חייהם, בלחימה הרואית נגד לוחמי קומנדו ימי - די ברור ששום דבר לא מנע מהם לפגוע בחיילי השייטת השבויים, ששכבו בבטן האוניה כפותים ורועדים מפחד. העובדה שהמפגינים לא נרתעו מעימות אלים נגד חיילי קומנדו מאומנים, מוכיחה שלא החשש מפני הסתבכות עם השלטונות הישראליים מנע מהם לפגוע בשבויים. אני השתכנעתי מכנות דבריו של אוקיף, שטען בראיון שהם שחררו את השבויים מפני שלא באו כדי להרוג או לפגוע, אלא באמת כדי להעביר סיוע הומניטרי לפלסטינים. טענתה של ישראל, שניתן היה להעביר את הסיוע דרך שלטונות ישראל – מאבדת את אמינותה לנוכח ההתנהגות שאינה מעוררת אמון של ישראל במהלך הסכסוך, כמו הקפאת כספי המיסים הפלסטיניים, ההפרות המתמשכות של הסכמים, ועוד.
בעיני, מדהים ההבדל בין מידת הכנות והאותנטיות הנושבת מדבריו של אוקיף בראיון, לבין השקרים וחצאי האמיתות שפירסם דובר צה"ל. לאוקיף, שחטף מכות על הספינה, ולטענתו גם בעת שהיה במעצר, יש כל הסיבות להיות כועס וממורמר. אבל בראיון הוא נשמע רגוע וכמעט מפויס, ונימת דבריו עניינית ונטולת רוע. דובר צה"ל, לעומתו, תיאר אותו כ"שונא ישראל" שבא כדי לאמן לוחמים פלסטיניים. ממש, החמאס זקוק לקשישים ששרתו במארינס לפני 18 שנה כדי שיאמנו אותם. כמו כן כינה דובר צה"ל את המפגינים "שכירי חרב". איך אפשר לחשוב על מפגינים אלה כעל אנשי לגיון הזרים, שבאו לסכן את חייהם תמורת כסף? אין גבול לאבסורד

על כן, כל הדיבורים על מפגינים אלימים וחמושים, שבאו להילחם, ורק גבורתם של לוחמי השייטת מנעה זאת מהם, וגם הצילה את ישראל משבירת המצור על עזה – אין להם על מה לסמוך. להיפך, ההכנה הלקויה של המבצע, אפילו מבחינת המטרות שניסתה ישראל להשיג, וההרג שביצעו הלוחמים, רק גרמו לישראל מבוכה עולמית, בזיון ברמה הטקטית, ופגיעה חמורה במעמדה הבינלאומי, המעורער ממילא

ההנהגה הישראלית הכושלת שוב הוכיחה קוצר ראיה, חוסר תכנון, העדפה של הגישה הכוחנית על פני כל חלופה, לשון אחר – ההתנהגות הבריונית הרגילה של ארגון המסובך עד מעל לראשו בפרויקט של כיבוש, דיכוי, שלילת זכויות, וניסיון חסר תוחלת להחזיק במקל בשני קצותיו ביד אחת: גם לא להרפות מהכיבוש, וגם להצטייר, בעיני עצמו ובעיני זולתו, כגוף מוסרי, דמוקרטי ונאור. זה לא עבד מעולם, בשום מקום, לאורך זמן ארוך. ולכן סופו של הנסיון הנואל להיכשל גם במקרה הזה

Israelis in Haiti - a complicated viewpoint

cartoon: Eran Wolkowski, "Haaretz"

Hurray to the Israeli delegation to Haiti!

Well, first, I don’t intend to be cynical here. I actually applaud the delegation of physicians and rescue personnel who made the transatlantic travel, and were the first to set up a field hospital in Port-O-Prince.
The point that I would like to make, though, is this: As an Israeli, I have the feeling that the Israeli people, and that includes almost everybody, are using this event, maybe unintentionally, as a diversion from what is happening in Israel (or rather, in Palestine).
To be perfectly clear about this, let us separate two things.
The first thing is that the men and women who were deployed to Haiti from Israel, not only have done a great job in saving the lives of a few hundred people; they also did it for the right reasons, for the most part – namely, really for the sake of humanity, life saving, and all the right values. I’m saying “for the most part”, just because, to be perfectly honest, and with all due respect to those fine people – they are also aware of the benefits that this gives to Israel, politically. And rightly so!
Just as a side note to this post: one reservation comes to mind, regarding the motives of such a good deed, and that is - being an extraordinary and unusual mission – it also comes with some significant benefits to the members of the delegations, themselves. I’m not talking about money, of course. I’m referring to the satisfaction, thrill, and even the joy, in the most pure and good form of those feelings. I’m not suggesting that they don’t deserve them – on the contrary; I’m not saying that it’s a pleasant mission – it’s not. It’s horrible, demanding and difficult at the highest levels. Those people are being exposed to the most horrific views known to humans. Yet, it’s not rare to see people fighting over the right to be in the delegation, and not only because of the utmost necessity of this mission. But enough, this is hard to explain to somebody who hasn’t been in these types of situations.
The second issue involved here, totally separately from the first, is the use of this event, and the response to it, by the Israeli government and media. They are simply and cynically using the photos of the Israeli flag, flying over the stadium in the Haitian capital, to cleanse their conscience from the crimes that they (the Israeli government, not the Israeli people as a whole) are committing against the Palestinians.
I know what you are thinking while reading this. “Why not give the credit, once some good deed is done? Why be so cynical?”. Well, here’s why: the Israeli politicians, headed by Prime Minister Nethanyahu, who decided on dispatching this delegation, are the ultimate example of cynicism. They don’t really care for the people of Haiti. They don’t care about 3 million people, much closer to home, who live as second class residents in a territory controlled by the country that they manage, without national or even some human rights. They don’t even care about their own people, 80% of whom share only 56% of the wealth; 24% of whom living under the poverty line, according to the Israeli government itself. (1)
They only care for one thing – staying in power.
The touching and moving pictures of people helping in Haiti are an important message of humanity. But they also help Bibi and his gang to stay in power. They do this by creating an image, for a country that doesn’t deserve it. They do it by giving its people both the excuse to continue supporting some terrible things that are done in their names; as well as, at the same time, creating for them the mindset, that they are always the victims; because they are only doing good, and the World doesn’t recognize it. In summary, we are more moral than the entire world, we are good and sophisticated and powerful in our goodness and high technology; and at the same time, we are so weak and miserable by not being understood as such; by being so harshly criticized by the international media (which, by the way, actually praised Israel for the good job in Haiti).
Just read some quotes from some of the very fine persons who served in Haiti: “We will travel there, save lives, we will get ‘Kudos’, and then what? Will they love us more around the world? Will they remember it the next time we bombard Gaza?...” Another one said: “This is coming to us at the best timing possible. Now that we finished recruiting new people to our Unit, we are also getting some real-life training, on a special budget…”. (2) Let me be very clear: I am not questioning the noble motives of the fine gentleman who was quoted; I’m just saying, there is more to it than what is visible on a 2-minute item on TV.
This is what the average person in Israel is thinking: “We can’t be that bad if we were the first country to offer real help in Haiti” (which is, well, close to be true; other countries sent some relief too, but we didn’t see much of it on Israeli TV). Well, sometimes two things can be true at the same time: The Israelis are very well trained to respond to disasters – mind you, it’s not so much fun to live in a country which specializes in those kinds of things! – and, at the same time, the Israelis, most of them without their real intention, share the responsibility to a big crime that is lasting for 43 years, namely – the occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people.
And what about the responsibility of the Palestinians themselves, for their situation? – Well that’s a good subject for another post. But like I said, two things can be true at the same time.

(1) Source: National Social Security Institute, 2007
(2) (Lt. Col. Dr. Chemi Blomberg); Source: Haaretz Israeli daily, January 22nd, 2010