July 6, 2020: Euseless EU euphemisms

1. He states, “We help build the Palestinian institutions in preparation for statehood... reaching... 600 million euros a year.” Yet every year millions of euros are spent on supporting terrorists and their textbooks teach hate and martyrdom. Moreover, much of the money is skimmed off by their corrupt leaders.

2. They “are committed to Israel’s security.” Does anyone believe this? 

3. “Only a return to negotiations can give Israelis and Palestinians what they rightly crave.” Tell that to the Palestinians who have refused all serious negotiations. 

4. “The two-state solution, the only realistic... way to end this conflict.” This is incorrect, there are many other ways including one-state, three-state, confederation, autonomy, and more.

5. “Annexation (is) violation of international law.” Israeli recovery of territories that were illegally occupied by Transjordan (now Jordan) that were part of the British Mandate according to the Treaty of San Remo (1920) recovered after we were attacked is not illegal. 

6. “One of the fundamental post-war norms... the acquisition of territory by force... will always be unacceptable” to the EU, yet all EU countries have done this: Spain annexed Catalonia; Romania annexed Transylvania; Italy annexed the South Tyrol; England annexed Wales, Scotland and (Northern) Ireland, etc. 

With its extreme leftist position, the EU will never support any Israeli attempt to achieve peace unilaterally, but prefers us to wallow in a stalemate that they keep pouring money into to maintain. 

Josep Borrell, high representative of the European Union for foreign affairs and security policy, was given prominent space to expound on the multiple sins of what he terms “annexation of territory” and the dire consequences such action will precipitate. 

To characterize his sanctimonious preachments as hypocritical would be an understatement. His ignorance, willing or otherwise, is breathtaking. While he embarks with an attempt to establish his bona fides as a sincere friend of Israel, he remarks having visited Israel following the Second Intifada and found “a widely shared hope that, despite the setbacks, a two-state solution was still within reach.” Allow me to remind Borrell that those “setbacks” were more than 1,000 murdered Jewish men, women and children, that disabused most of us of the notion of ever reaching an accommodation with the Palestinian Arabs. 

Borrell speaks of more than 600 million euros bestowed upon the Palestinians per annum, ostensibly as assistance in preparation for statehood. What methods of accountability are in place for such largesse? What oversight does the EU impose on school curricula and textbooks that have been brainwashing Palestinian children for decades? Why does the EU remain mute on the matter of the PA’s pay-for-slay policy? Where are the state institutions such as roads, hospitals, schools etc. that should have been built with these funds? And why is the EU funding pre-fab structures for Palestinians that encroach on Area C lands and challenge Israel’s standing as per the Oslo Accords? 

In reality, the political process has been moribund from the get-go. The Palestinians’ fundamental position cannot tolerate a non-Muslim sovereign in the Land of Israel. Theirs is a zero-sum game with the eventual replacement of Israel with a Palestine stretching “from the river to the sea.” 

Borrell parrots the contention that annexation would be a violation of international law. Legal minds of incontestable repute have refuted such claims and cited incontrovertible facts to support the extension of Israeli law (not “annexation”) as perfectly legal. 

And if, as Borrell claims, “the acquisition of territory by force will always be unacceptable for (the) European Union,” why has the EU not taken any measures against Russia when it annexed Crimea by force? EU silence vis-a-vis the ongoing occupation of northern Cyprus by Turkey is deafening. 

Only if the Palestinians ever face the reality that Israel, the nation-state of the Jewish people is here to stay and it is in their people’s best interest to enter sincere and direct negotiations based on a plan of peace through prosperity, is there hope. 

Think about the future

 

Regarding “Gov’t to adopt strategic plan ‘to guarantee future of Jewish people’” (July 5), what a joke. Educating the Diaspora Jew about their Jewishness is all very well, but what about acknowledging that there are moderate strains of Judaism (not all are religious or extremist), and grant them a place of prayer at the Western Wall? Jewish tolerance should be the by-word. 

At the present time in Israel, there is no room for religious tolerance. Diaspora Jews are made to feel unwelcome unless they follow the doctrine of Orthodox Jewry. Any other forms of Jewish life are invalidated. 

Why alienate Jews who follow their own Jewish doctrine? Bring them into the fold with tolerance and open arms. Why let extremism chase away Jews who would otherwise be part of the Jewish life cycle? I am speaking of people whose parents and grandparents born and bred into a Jewish way of life, but are slowly alienated by the extremist views of those controlling Jewish life in Israel. Live and let live.

I think there is a more urgent situation in Israel toward guaranteeing the future of Jewish people. 

We are losing land to our enemies that should be populated with Jews as commanded by God. Instead we have “Jews” demanding that Shabbat should be a day for travel, entertainment and shopping, rather than the holy Shabbat together with the demand that Israel should be a state for all people rather than the Jewish State for the Jewish People.

Diaspora Jews have the ability, should they choose, to make aliyah and it is obvious what their choice is. They also have the ability and wherewithal to bring up their children with a strong Jewish identity and again it is obvious what that choice is. Throughout our history Jews, have chosen galut (exile), often with tragic consequences, but Israel cannot be held responsible for Diaspora Jews who choose to be less Jewish – especially as it obviously hasn’t a clue how to safeguard itself and its own Jewish population.

Regarding “Israeli hotels find ways to renew their hospitality” (July 5), with all sectors of the Israeli economy suffering from the constraints of COVID-19, the tourism industry should take the current crisis and try to make the best of it by lowering prices for domestic tourism. Hotels, Tzimmers, Airbnb and all other Israeli vacation destinations should realize that no foreigners are going to be coming to fill their rooms this summer and lower their prices so that Israeli families could have a respite from being at home, in lockdown and observing social distancing. This would benefit everyone, a little R&R is just what we all need right now and now is the perfect time to do it. So, I say to the hotels, tzimmers and Airbnbs – make a little less money than what you are used to – and instead of having empty rooms and not making any money this summer, fill up those rooms with Israelis who would gladly come – at a discount! 

The state of Israel is using millions of shekels of taxpayer money, employing a myriad of lawyers, interviewing literally hundreds of potential witnesses – all in order to shore up its frivolous attempt to vilify the prime minister and bring about his political downfall. 

Yet that very same attorney general, who is orchestrating this whole farce, is not willing to allow the prime minister the elementary right to defend himself (“A-G sparks another Netanyahu-Gantz clash,” July 1). If it takes millions to build up a case, why cannot Bibi take a helping financial hand from his friend in order to finance the legal assistance that he needs to stand up against this formidable array of highly paid and well-fed lawyers?

This is democracy? This is justice?

In your editorial “Legitimate protest” (June 26), you wrote, “It would be more frightening to live in a country where there are no protests than to be inconvenienced by demonstrations.” 

Blocking intersections all over the country can easily lead to loss of life due to ambulances, police, firetrucks, etc. not being able to get through the traffic jams that are caused. In one such protest, Route 38 near Beit Shemesh was closed for hours during which time a baby in one of the stuck cars would have dehydrated for lack of formula if Hatzalah hadn’t managed to bring some via a motorcycle!

If protesters wish to gather, let them do so, but not in the middle of streets, highways or entrances to cities. Protests in those areas can cause death – which is not just an “inconvenience.”

“Annexation and normalizing UAE/Israel relations” (jpost.com June 30) makes some interesting points. Certainly, the development of open, mutually beneficial relations between Israel and the UAE could mark the beginning of the end of the Palestinian Authority’s campaign against normalization of the “Occupation,” something that was not accomplished via the cold peace generated by Israel’s treaties with Egypt and Jordan.

A major stumbling block in all past negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians has been the question of the “Palestine refugees,” people who claim descent from Arabs who fled Palestine half a century ago and more. The number of “refugees” registered with UNRWA has grown from fewer than 700,000 to over 5,500,000. While feeding the “refugees” a constant diet of anti-Jewish invective and teaching them that killing Jews is the path to Heaven, Palestinian leaders have also told them that they will, one day, return triumphantly to homes they claim their forebears lost in Israel. 

The first step in achieving “two states for two peoples” (a demilitarized Palestinian state co-existing peacefully with the nation-state of the Jews) is admitting to the “refugees” that Israel is not going to be destroyed or transformed into a Muslim-majority state. Then, Arab nations will need to rescind their laws barring “Palestine refugees” from citizenship, giving the “refugees” the option of becoming fully integrated into an existing Arab country or opting for citizenship under Palestinian rule. 

In addition, Arab nations should offer carefully monitored aid to the Palestinian leaders so that the first-ever-to-exist Arab State of Palestine will have a viable economy and be a place where Palestinians, whether they had been classified as “refugees” or not, can become productive citizens.

Regarding “A-G’s name should have been cleared” (July 2), from the title of this article one understands that Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit’s name in the Harpaz affair is not yet cleared. The previous A-G, Yehuda Weinstein, did not give him a “clean” pass in this affair. Judge David Rozen is complaining that the state of this affair is inconclusive, and TV Channel 13 found strong evidence supporting that the case generate many question marks. Only the full publication of the “secret” records accompanied with a full legal investigation can clear the Mandelblit’s name 

 

As the most powerful legal job in this country, the post of the A-G can only be filled by a legal adviser whose personal legal and moral record are 100% clean and beyond any doubt. This is not the case with Mandelblit. Therefore, the government must immediately suspend him (at least temporarily) from his post, until the case is fully investigated and his name is fully cleared. He must not remain in his position one day more. The cloud of the Harpaz affair is too delicate and politically tainted, and might have ramifications on Mandelblit’s functioning and judgment.