“I am not a Greater Israel guy and I have no objection to dismantling settlements as part of a peace deal, but getting so hung up on freezing settlement growth is not wise because it is not the most important issue out there,” argued Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar Ilan University.I think I saw the Honig piece earlier. In any case, here's the link, "Another Tack: What Bibi Didn't Say."
The far bigger concern, he said, is that the Palestinians are unable to make similar concessions because of their political divisions and weakness.
Israelis have turned rightward and most analyses suggest that the reason is a growing fear of regional threats, notably Iranian-backed parties like Hezbollah and Hamas, on Israel’s borders.
Sarah Honig, a columnist for The Jerusalem Post, a conservative paper, put it this way a week ago in a column: “Settlements aren’t the problem and removing them isn’t the solution. Israel foolishly dismantled 21 Gaza Strip settlements in 2005. Did peace blossom all over as a result? Precisely the reverse occurred. The razing of Israeli communities was regarded as terror’s triumph, expediting the Hamas takeover.”
The settlements are a complex issue that resonates in surprising ways here. Zionism began 125 years ago through the Jewish purchase of land in Palestine and the building of settlements on what the Jews saw as their ancient homeland. When Israel won additional territory in the 1967 war, a conflict it felt was imposed on it, many here viewed it as the miraculous continuation of Jewish national rebirth in the biblical heartland. Religious Jews began settling there, but others were attracted by low prices, open space and a pioneering ethos.
For more on the settlements issue, see Israel Matsav.
6 comments:
Here's the thing, Obama is laying the entire load on Israel. If it all fails (again) then he'll lay the blame on Bibi. Personally, I'd build as many settlements as I could. Until palestinians take responsibility for themselves and their political/terrorist groups then as far as I'm concerned they forfeit their right to have their grievances addressed. When a mass murdering gang is in the process of shooting people indescrimately, you don't worry wether they've been given the opportunity to stop and get some take out from the local McDonalds. You shoot them and then ask if anyone else would like to pick up a gun.
Only when the Palestinians get their little terror groups to drop the "Israel must die" routines should they get to have a say in how things will be run.
P.S. Bibi needs to tell Barry to get bent.
I read a piece earlier where the new shacks going up were being called obama shacks. I love it. I used to build condos in Missouri, wonder if they need another hammer thrower.
Hopefully Israel holds their ground on this issue not giving in to the pro Muslim agenda of the Obama Central Government Don
Wolfe I second that Get Bent" sentiment
As a conservative, (not a neo) I think it is definitley time to review. To pull back with some allies.....its time to be the party of "No" . Bush (GW) requested a halt to settlements also.....lets strengthen that resolve.
America has been disrespected by the Arab extremists ... AND the Israeli settlers......lets use leverage where it can be effective, The state called Israel was not a gift from God, but a gift from the French British and Americans.......lets remember that together, if there's any influence, thats where it will exist, in that historical fact.
Cracker,
Even though I agree with you in some cases I think we need to be careful about creating a moral equivalency between Israel and those who represent the Palestinians and other groups in the Middle East. The settlements do create a problem, but not so insurmountable that Obama, who must have delusions of grandeur, needs to dictate to the Israelis in the open just to impress the Arabs.
We need to maintain friendly relations with Israel, where our interests and theirs coincide, and be very careful about currying favor with those who do not wish us well. Also it will do no good except to further exacerbate the already numerous problems that exist. Something that Obama does not seem to understand.
I do not think that alienating our friends and placating our enemies is going to gain us much except for the enmity of both.
I ask one thing with regards to the Obama drama over Israeli settlements in the West Bank: Are there Islamic settlements in Israel? Of course there are!!! Then, it is settled! I have Palestinian friends – not in this neighborhood, but, there is an Israeli across the street from me, in our cul de sac there are three black couples, two are black males married to white women, and a retired Mexican, from Mexico, next door. We all look out for each other. What harm do a few hundred Israelis pose in a new Palestinian State?? Pleazzzzze! If Obama’s theme is find common-ground, how about having some real, non-press-related empathy! Settlements in Palestine are no differnt than settlements of Palestinians still prefering to live and work in Isreal!
Thanks for your response Dennis!, I appreciate it very much. I also see your point.
My approach here is to shift from quantities to qualities.
To re-frame, from allies and enemies...to being part of the problem or part of a solution....as far as We (the US)is concerned,....we brought you into this world.....do not attempt to hold us hostage with history or nuclear arms......either play ball and be an ally .....or act in your own self interests, irrespective of the consequences.....and we're not pals.
Sure it will be percieved by some that we have "Abandoned" Israel.....but to others it will be seen as tempering a very real truth.
America is the hearth, We seek to defend the hearth from those who wish us harm, We maintain a level of sovreignty that allows NO other relationship to tear us asunder.
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