Israel headlines for Chanukah, November 26-28, 2013

Israel headlines tell a story. They tell you the news. But sometimes, they reveal some underlying truths.  

Return to this blog every Tuesday and Friday after Noon. You’ll see a sampling of headlines from Israel’s press—and some comments about those headlines.

Today, we look at—and comment on--Chanukah, which began November 28^th.

 

Chanukah

-Some clamor for challurkey while others cry fowl over holiday mix

With everyone talking about ‘Thanksgivikah’, this headline was a show-stopper. As you may know, some calculate that the next convergence of Thanksgiving and Chanukah will be app 79,043 years from now. Do you know what a ‘challurkey’ is? It’s a challah (bread) baked in the shape of a turkey.

Now you’re ready for the next Thanksgivikah.

Here are more Chanukah headlines:

-IDF Officer: All Hareidim Should Die

-Police hold for questioning three Jews who attempt to pray at Temple Mount

-Israel boycott finds favor at American university event

-Infant wounded by rock throwers in Jerusalem
 

What do these headlines have to do with Chanukah?

They’re about the Chanukah story.

During the years 175BCE-165BCE (app) Jews in Israel fought against the Greeks and their Syrian allies. These foreign conquerors wanted to rule over the Jew. They wanted to ‘unJewish’ the Jewish State. They wanted to stamp out Jewish worship and Torah.

Many Jews joined them. The Chanukah war was, to a large extent, between Jews and non-Jews who joined together to reject Torah versus Jews who fought to keep Torah.

These additional headlines remind us that we continue to battle today against Jews and non-Jews who would destroy the Jewish State. We continue to fight against those who would ‘unJewish’ Israel.

When the Jewish Hasmoneans won their war, they saved our Torah. They saved our Temple. We are Jewish today—some 2100 years later--because of their victory.

Our enemies still want to destroy us. They want to stamp out Jewish worship. 

Many Jews join them. 

Sound familiar?

It’s deja vue—the Chanukah story--all over again.

Which side are you on?

 

The war against Israel

-UN declares ‘Year of Palestine’

-PLO official: PA will join ICC if peace talks fail

-Chief Palestinian negotiator: Israel is destroying the peace process

-Majority of Palestinians believe peace talks with Israel will fail

-Palestinian debt to IEC passes NIS 1b[illion]

-Israel boycott finds favor at American university event

-Terror on the road: Jerusalem plagued by stone throwing

 

The war against Israel has many fronts. The UN is an agent to help our enemies. It celebrates ‘Palestinians’. It condemns Israel more than all other nations combined.

Individual Arabs are bombarded daily with viciously anti-Semitic sermons, TV programs and speeches. Even their (UN-sponsored) school textbooks incite against Israel. They cannot avoid the hate. 

Driven by this hate, they stone innocent children and civilians.

Their elders sit at ‘peace’ talks with Israel. Peace? Arabs leaders don’t talk peace. They demonize. They threaten.

Israel destroys the peace process. Israel must be dragged before the International Criminal Court on charges.

University professors—the intellectual guardians of our children—seek to destroy Israel through boycott and sanctions. Israel, they claim, is a colonizer, a settler state, a perpetuator of apartheid.

What must the G-d of Israel think of these people?

 

Gaza

-Rocket sets off code red sirens in Ashkelon Coast area, but lands within Gaza

-Gazan captured inside Israel with grenade

 

While the West labels Israel as intransigent on peace, Hamas and Gaza remain pro-active. They target Israeli civilians. 

A Gazan enters Israel carrying a hand grenade. The world says nothing. Why? 

 

Iran

-U.S.: Six-month clock on interim Iran nuclear deal not yet ticking

- Iran deal won’t kick in until nuclear inspections, pushing start into 2014

-US now indicates Iran interim deal wasn’t finalized

-Iran enjoying pre-implementation ‘window’

-UN nuclear watchdog likely to need more time, money to implement Iran deal

-Most Israelis believe interim Iran deal endangers them

 

America and Israel

-Obama touts Iran deal as ‘right move, good for Israel’

-Report: Obama asks Netanyahu to 'take a breather' from vocal criticism of Geneva deal

-Iran deal a failure, says ex-national security chief

-ZOA: Iran deal is Munich, Obama is Chamberlain

-US told France about secret Iran talks months before it told Israel

-Poll: Americans back Iran deal by 2-to-1 margin

-Poll shows Americans split on Iran deal

 

During this news cycle, US President Obama came out swinging at Israel. He had signed a deal with Iran. Israel was safe now, he said.

So why was Israel Prime Minister being negative? Israel should ‘take a breather’.

A US poll showed support for the plan by a 2-to-1 margin. What part of 'good deal' didn't Netanyahu understand?

The inference here seemed clear. Israel was acting like a selfish, self-centered cry-baby now upset because it didn’t get what it wanted.

The Israelis should ‘give it a break’.

It was great theatre. But then the wheels came off.

Another poll came out. It seems that the original poll showing tremendous American support for the deal wasn’t being confirmed. This second poll didn’t show overwhelming support for the plan. In fact, it showed, essentially, an even split among Americans.

Then, news started to leak about plan details.  Iran got 8 billion dollars released immediately (too immediately?) from sanctions; but the West couldn’t begin to monitor anything in Iran until some time in 2014.

The plan was set up to monitor Iran for six months, to see if Iran truly qualified for the lifting of sanctions—but the monitoring clock couldn’t start. No one was ready for it.

No wonder Iran called the deal a victory for Iran.

Then, we learned more about the plan. When monitoring did begin, monitors would be limited to sites the Iranians have confirmed and not those critics suspect may exist secretly (where the real nuclear work was being done).  

Then it got worse. The US admitted that this interim deal hadn’t even been finalized.  A State Department spokeswoman told reporters it wasn’t clear when the deal between Iran and world powers would actually go into effect. But then, she added, the U.S. was respecting the spirit of the deal in urging against sanctions. 

What?

This ‘deal’ gave Iran everything it wanted. It even provided a pre-implementation nuclear window during which to push forward unimpeded--and 8 billion dollars. This is how Obama makes Israel safe?

The ZOA (Zionists of America) may have captured best what had just happened when it said that this deal was our era’s new Munich. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have become the new Neville Chamberlains.

G-d help us all.

 

Life in Israel

-Israel’s water shortage eased by 90 percent in four years

-Another large natural gas field discovered on Israel’s Mediterranean coast

-Israel to get first (natural) gas filling station next year

-Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim eyes investments in Israel

 

As the world continues to tell us we must buy into the 'Palestinian struggle', investors line up to make money from Israeli companies. Israel continues to solve its water issues while the Arab lands around Israel suffer from something horrible called, ‘desertification’—the turning of farmland into desert sand.

Now Israel reports that yet another natural-gas field has been discovered. This new discovery is called ‘Tamar Southwest’. It contains perhaps 20 billion cubic meters of gas. This 2013 discovery compares favourably with the 2009 ‘Tamar’ site (10 billion cubic meters of gas). It is smaller than the 2010 ‘Noble’ find (16 trillion to 18 trillion cubic feet of natural gas).

Guess what new businesses Israel is going to develop? One will be natural gas fill-up stations. These will service primarily (at first) busses and garbage trucks.

If you have ever been in Jerusalem, you’ll know that there are a lot of busses and garbage trucks clogging Jerusalem streets. Converting them to natural gas could have a major impact on local air quality.

If you want to understand what that means, think about air quality in Cairo, Egypt. Yes, Cairo is much larger than Jerusalem. But in five years, where might air quality be for each city?

Israel shows the potential to move into a Redemption-style future. It might be safe (if politically incorrect) to say that Cairo shows the potential to turn into a living hell.

 

The Arab Middle East

- Syrian opposition to attend Geneva peace conference

-Egypt's interim president to decide on voting system

- String of bombings, shootings kill at least 20 across Iraq

-HRW: Syrian refugee women sexually harassed in Lebanon

-Report: 250 Hezollah fighters killed near Damascus

-Report: Scud missile kills 40 people in Syrian market

 

While Israel is demonized, it continues to push the envelope of technology and research. Arabs, meanwhile, go in a different direction. One headline (not included here) reveals that some 2.2 million children have become refugees from Syrian fighting. Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports on rights violations in Lebanon. Fighters in Syria accuse each other of using chemical weapons on the battlefield. Egypt still struggles to find ‘democracy’. Bombers in Iraq continue to kill innocents.

But of course, the UN doesn’t overly worry about these issues. The UN worries about Israel. It’s all Israel’s fault that, for example, refugee Arab women in Lebanon are sexually harassed by other Arabs.

 

Jews around the world

-Brooklyn Jews targeted in ‘knockout’ attacks

-Anti-Semitic incidents on the rise in Australia, report shows

-French Jews too afraid to put kids in public school

-French Jewish immigration to Israel up by 49 percent

 

Face it. It’s a myth that life in Israel is dangerous.  We all see news reports about Arab attacks against Jews. But these reports shrink when compared to assaults and attacks in large cities around the world.

New York City, for example, has more people than all of Israel. While I do not have a source for this, I will suggest to  you that there are far  more murders, rapes and muggings in New York than in Israel.

I live in an Israeli city of 44,000 people. There is virtually no crime here.

We don’t have ‘knockout’ attacks in Israel. We are not afraid to send our children to ‘public schools’ (as Jews in France are afraid to do). We do not fear that our children and grandchildren will be subject to anti-Semitic insults (as a third of the French fear). We are not afraid to walk in public wearing clothing that would identify us as Jews (as many are in Europe today).

If you are Jewish, the chances are good that you are safest in Israel, not someplace else. 

There are other stories in Israeli news outlets. But aren’t these enough for one day?

Come back again. You’ll see Jewish Destiny unfolding right before your eyes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arab headlines, November 20 –27, 2013

If you’re like most non-Arabs, you probably don’t read the Arab Press. That could be a mistake.

The Arab world is not monolithic. It’s dynamic. It’s a living entity. It’s home to almost 350 million people. Many of these people know about you. What do you know about them?

Every Thursday before Noon ET, return here for something you may not see elsewhere: a look at the Arab news world.

Here are some personal comments about Arab news for November 20–27, 2013.

Today, we take a quick look at how Arab news sites look at Israel.

 

From Palestinian (PA) news

Yesterday, November 27, 2013, the PA ran 55 features, analyses and interviews on its news homepage. These 55 features appeared in addition to a list of news headlines.

Of these 55 ‘feature’ presentations, 33 (60%) were unflattering to Israel.  Here’s a sampling of ‘feature’ headlines about Israel that visitors to the PA news site saw yesterday:

- Israeli admits shooting at Palestinian children on TV game show

-Bible scholars: Zionists have 'weaponized' scripture

-Medics: Israeli forces shoot, injure Palestinian in south Gaza

-Israeli forces demolish house, steel structure in Hebron town

-Activists smash holes in separation wall near Jerusalem

-3 Palestinians shot dead by Israeli forces near Hebron

 The main ‘feature’ of these feature stories is unmistakeable: Israel kills and harms your (Arab) neighbours even as Arabs fight to smash holes in Israel’s symbol of brutality.

Can you identify what’s missing from these stories?

Where’s the coverage of ‘peace’?

Peace is a big story in the West. Peace talks unfold for Israelis and Arabs. Where’s the coverage?

The West can’t stop talking about peace. Israel and the PA are supposed to be talking about how to live together side-by-side.   

Where’s the coverage?

-Where are the interviews with those who will build that peace once all the paperwork has been signed?

-Where are the analyses of what might be the first steps taken once the paperwork is signed?

-Where are the feature profiles of those who will build in the new ‘Palestine’?

-Where are the discussions of what should be built first once peace is real?

There’s nothing about peace. There’s nothing about building. In PA news, peace doesn’t exist.

PA news, however, does have a focus. That focus is Israel—and it’s a very clear focus indeed: Israel kills and brutalizes your friends.

What part of ‘Israel-is-evil’ don’t you get—the shooting, the home-destruction, the murder or the bullying?

That’s the PA focus.

If that’s true, there’s a disconnect here. If the PA won’t talk about peace, how do Arabs in the PA prepare for peace? If all PA news can talk about is the ‘demon Israel’, what do you think Arab readers are thinking about—and talking about--when it comes to Israel—peace?

Explain that to me. Then, once you do that, you can explain to me why, in the face of such a disconnect, the West insists on calling Israel the one who doesn’t want peace.

There’s something rotten here—and it’s not Israel.

 

 From around the Arab world

PA news isn’t the only news source covering Israel in the Arab world. For example, on Wednesday, November 27, 2013, Jordanian news had its own homepage. It showed 39 stories and features. But only 2 (5%) were about Israel.

In Saudi Arabia, the news ran 22 features, opinions and news. Only 1 (4.5%) was about Israel.

In Kuwait, the news ran 13 features, opinion and analyses. Only one (7.7%) was about Israel.

The Bahrain news showed 34 stories on its main page. None (0%) were about Israel.

Syrian news ran 43 features and stories. None (0%) were about Israel. The Syrian site does have a section called ‘Related Sections’ displayed at the top of the News Page—and it is therefore visible and noticeable; an ‘Israel’ section appears prominently in this Section. But the stories about Israel under ‘Israel’ do not have the same anti-Israel animus you see in PA news. The stories presented here on Wednesday, November 27, 2013 appeared far, far less hostile than one might expect.

This is just a sampling of Arab news. One news cycle—and one day within that cycle—cannot possibly tell the whole story about how Israel is presented in the Arab world.

There is also a language issue. The stories you read about here have not come from Arabic sites; they come from English-language sites that Arab nations have built for English readers.

The news and features presented to English-speakers may be different from news presented in Arabic. We may be reading a ‘laundered’ version of Arab news.

What you read about here is the news Arab sources want English-readers to see. So, while we may not know what each Arab news site is saying in Arabic about Israel, we can see what they say in English—and what the PA says in English doesn’t appear laundered at all. Their message is clear:  Israel is evil.

Does that message prepare English-language readers to support peace with Israel?

You tell me.

 

 

Signs that the Redemption is near?

It’s the end of the month again. That means it’s time to take another look at Redemption.

For years, the American magazine, Sports Illustrated, has run a weekly mini-report entitled, “Signs of the Apocalypse” (or something like that). It contains a one-or-two sentence announcement that features some weekly occurrence in the Sports world. Typically, it focuses on someone doing something really stupid. It highlights how incredibly awful highly-paid sports figures can be. Such behaviour by those we honour, the piece suggests, is surely a sign that our world must soon end.

Mostly, these incidents entertain.

That magazine comes from America. We live in Israel, which follows a different religious and spiritual orientation. So if someone in America thinks about Christian-inspired world Destruction, perhaps we can think about something different--a Jewish-inspired New-world Redemption.

Consider now some recent examples from the news that, in some way—humorous and not so humorous—suggest that the world might be preparing for something New. If you don’t see how these headlines might pre-sage a Jewish Redemption, that’s okay. That just means that your ‘Redemption training’ isn’t up-to-date.

For November 2013:

- Initial Obamacare enrollment estimates fall far short of targets (Chicago Tribune)

-FDA: Cigarette of future could be non-addictive (Boston Globe)

-Russian oligarch Sergei Polonsky: 'Everyone in Russia has gone mad' (The Guardian)

-The 100 top things you honestly don't need to do before you die (The Guardian)

-My 53-year-old mother has had a baby, and it's changed me (The Guardian)

-Entrepreneurs find success in Detroit (NBC news)

-Will I live longer if I eat more nuts? (The Guardian)

-More Americans say Obama can't manage government (Chicago tribune)

-Could a procedure alter hunger and cure obesity? Maybe, study says (Los Angeles Times)

 

 

November was a good month for Redemption seekers. For example, any news that we might have better health in our future is always uplifting—and November brought us some very good news indeed about our future health: in the future, cigarette smoking may no longer be an addiction. Perhaps, researchers suggested this month, the addictive element of smoking could be removed. That could save thousands of lives. That’s a change for the better we all need. Cigarettes weren’t the only potential ‘change’ we read about in November. Food, too, could give us a New—and better--Future: eating nuts could make you live longer. Wait: did that headline say nuts could make you live longer—or, living longer makes you nuts? Well, if nuts won’t help you, maybe a ‘procedure’ could—perhaps science could alter hunger and obesity, one headline suggested, through the means of a simple ‘procedure.’ It all sounds like something New--news for a New Future. Could our Redemption come on the heels of nuts and cuts? Another possible sign that something New was in the air was a headline from Russia. We all know Russians are different. We also know that Russians don’t know they’re different. So, do we now see a hint of something New when we see a Russian declare that Russians are mad? Certainly, that’s progress. But is it Redemption? We believe that when Redemption comes, our ideas about life, birth and death could change. How we give meaning to our lives will change in ways we cannot now imagine. We may, for example, decide to rush to Detroit, Michigan. Detroit? Yes: we might decide to become entrepeneurs in Detroit—something that, these days, is an oxymoron. Most startling of all, when Redemption comes we may actually see entrepeneurs becoming successful in Detroit. If it happens in Detroit, you’ll know Redemption is really here. But during Redemption, success in Detroit won’t be the only startling thing to see. In Redemption, our ideas of birth and motherhood could get turned on its head. A 53-year old woman could have a baby. That would change people’s lives, wouldn’t it? According to at least one November headline, it already has changed lives. Finally, we learned in November that, when you look for Redemption in the news, you may discover that Redemption means we re-think how we live. No longer do we talk about the top 100 things you must do before you die; that’s passé. Why rush around chasing things to do? When it’s Redemption-time, what you’re going to be interested in is, what are the top 100 things you don’t want to do. You’ll be interested in that because now, with Redemption so close, you don’t want to waste time with frivolous pursuits. Luckily for you, England’s The Guardian had just the news item for you: the top 100 things not to do before you die. Makes you wonder if the editors at The Guardian have the right idea—but the wrong focus. They should be talking about the top 100 things to do before your New Life begins. ----------------------

Look around. Our future beckons. The world reveals hints. It is up to us to understand what we see.

Naturally, it’s possible that all these headlines are meaningless. These news stories may have nothing to do with the Jewish Redemption. Perhaps they simply prove that nothing changes—except our perception of Redemption.

But then we see an odd headline about problems with initial enrollments into the new US health care system called, Obamacare. Judging from early November news reports, if you weren’t an Obamacare fan in September—before enrollment began—you may have actually begun to think that perhaps Obamacare would fail before it even got started. If that had happened, how many of you would have said that miracles had begun?

Then there’s this shocking thought: if most Americans now believe that US President Obama doesn’t know how to run the government, well, wouldn't that be proof that Change is in the air?

It could be a sign, all these Washington troubles. It could mean we now stand on the threshold of a wondrous time when you didn’t have to be nuts to eat nuts—or live a long life.  

All of this sounds silly, of course. But even so, the question still stands: has November brought us the beginning of something New?

You tell me.

 

 

Israel headlines, November 22-25, 2013

Israel headlines tell a story. They tell you the news. But sometimes, they reveal some underlying truths.  

Return to this blog every Tuesday and Friday after Noon. You’ll see a sampling of headlines from Israel’s press—and some comments about those headlines.

Today’s headlines—and those comments--come from November 22 - 25, 2013.

 

The Arab-Israel conflict

-More Palestinians working in Israel, but unemployment rising sharply in West Bank and Gaza

-Fatah Video Publicizes Threats to Kidnap, Kill, Bomb Israelis

-PA Sheikh: Only Solution for Jews is the Sword

 Gaza

-Hamas Threatens Israel with Genocide

-Hamas: Our Rockets Will Reach North of Tel Aviv

 

America and Israel

-Poll [in US] shows ebbing Israeli support for Iran strike

-Obama’s failure of moral courage

-John Kerry: Iran nuclear deal makes Israel safer

 

Iran

-U.S. Official: Israel's Position on Iran Could Lead to War

-Geneva breakthrough: Iran and world powers reach interim deal on nuclear program

-Gulf States Worry Deal Boosts Iran's Ambitions

-Canada vows to keep its Iran sanctions after deal

-Kerry: Iran Deal 'Safer For Israel'

-Saudi prince to Iran: We won’t sit idly by

-Khamenei and Obama are Geneva’s winners, Netanyahu the big loser

- Jimmy Carter on Geneva deal: 'Historic opportunity' to rebuild relations with Iran

-Iran nuclear agreement a ‘historic mistake,’ Netanyahu says

-ADL: ‘Deep concern’ about flaws in Iran deal

-Nuclear breakout possible in two months, group warns

-Steinitz: Agreement liable to bring Iran nearer bomb

-Iranian President Rouhani says nuclear ‘rights’ sealed by deal

-Trumpeting deal, Iranians say agreement stymies ‘Zionist plot’

-Rouhani: Sanctions Regime has been Broken

- Obama advised Netanyahu of secret Iran talks in September

-Netanyahu: Iran Got What it Wanted

-PM: The More We Know, the Worse Iran Deal Is

-Almost 3 of 5 Israeli Jews: US Harmed Israel in Geneva

 

Israel politics

-Drama in Labor party: Herzog beats Yachimovich for chairmanship

-Herzog: Netanyahu sowing ‘unnecessary panic’ on Iran

-Liberman: No plan to break up union with Netanyahu

 

The Arab Middle East

-5 Jordanian Journalists Wounded in Syrian Bus Blast

-Report: Beirut-Bound Car Bomb Intercepted

-Scores killed as rebels fight siege of Damascus suburbs

-Syria War Has Killed More than 11,000 Children, Finds New Report

-Syria: More than 160 Dead in 2-Day Battle

-Syrian Rebels Unite, Call for Islamic State

 

The war of the Left against Israel

-Cabinet votes yea for Shai Nitzan as state prosecutor

 

Jews around the world

-New Australian government shifts  voting pattern on Israel at UN

-Conservative synagogues wrestle with non-Jews in the pews -UN Holds First Discussion on Rights of Refugee Jews
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The big story in this news cycle was, of course, the nuclear deal with Iran. Some sanctions on Iran will now be lifted. But will Iran’s nuclear ambitions be stopped?

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been saying for weeks that, to assure that Iran will not be in position to build a nuclear bomb, two steps had to be taken: an Iranian heavy water plant had to be closed (heavy water is essential to the running of some types of nuclear reactors used to produce nuclear weapons); and, second, Iran must be forced to stop enriching uranium.

Did this deal accomplish these two steps? No.

Nevertheless, the US hailed this agreement as a crucial step forward. Ex-President Jimmy Carter even called the deal, ‘an historic’ opportunity to rebuild relations with Iran.

In fact, Carter used the very word chosen by Netanyahu to describe the deal—except that Netanyahu didn’t characterize the deal as an ‘opportunity’. Netanyahu called the deal, ‘an historic mistake’--one that would bring Iran closer to a bomb.

What’s more important, building relations with an aggressive Iran, or stopping Iran from building a nuclear arsenal? Carter—and Netanyahu—have made their choices.

Netanyahu was quick to condemn the deal. The US was quick to celebrate a job well done.

Who was right? Was the US correct to call this deal a great one (one that would make Israel ‘safer’)—or were the Israelis correct to call it a bad one, one that would make war with Iran more likely)?

For an answer, don’t look at the US. Don’t look at Israel. Look to the Saudis.

The Saudis hated the deal. It is, they said, bad. They agree with Israel.

The Iranians agreed with the US. Teheran boasted that this deal cemented its nuclear ‘rights’. The deal also, Teheran said, ‘stymied the Zionist plot.

You couldn’t get any clearer than that.

The Saudis are angry. Do you remember the Wikileak scandal? From those leaks, we learned that the Saudis had been secretly telling the US—repeatedly—that the greatest threat to peace in the Middle East was Iran. The Saudis wanted the US to do something. The US did: it said repeatedly in public—and behind closed doors—that the greatest threat to peace in the Middle East was Israel.

The Saudis didn’t think that was funny. They believe that the US has been ignoring their pleas for a hard line against Iran.

For them, this deal is the capstone of a consistent pro-Iran scheme that the Obama administration has been pushing for years.  They are not happy.

They aren’t alone. Israel knew that the US had been holding secret negotiations with Iran—and the US had withheld that information from Israel. The Times of Israel reported that, while Obama first told Netanyahu in September that secret meetings with Iran had been held, the truth was that Israeli intelligence already knew that these secret meeting had been going on for seven month. Israeli media reported that Israeli officials ‘angrily denounced [this US] diplomatic outreach to Teheran’.

Now, during this news cycle, Israel media showed a picture of Catherine Ashton of the EU and John Kerry of the US in what can best be termed a triumphant embrace (at the success of their ‘deal’).  Israelis weren’t amused by their apparent glee. Three of five Israelis were reported to see the deal as actually harming Israel, rather than, as Kerry has suggested, helping Israel.

What could happen next to US-Israel relations?

Meanwhile as everyone focused on Iran, Hamas and Fatah (the PLO) reminded us that Israel is in the middle of ‘peace’ talks with the ‘Palestinians’. Naturally, everyone wants peace. The US and the EU accuse Israel of refusing to sign for peace. They want Israel to quit stalling. They want to see a peace treaty.

Why would Israel stall? Why would Israel not want peace?

Perhaps this news cycle gave us an answer: Hamas threatened Israel with genocide. A Palestinian Authority cleric declared that the only ‘solution’ for Jews is ‘the sword’. A Fatah video publicized Arab threats to kidnap, kill and bomb Israeli.

What ‘peace’ talks?

 

England 1938, Munich--and the destruction of Arab ‘Palestine’

 Last updated: November 25, 2013

In 1938, England had a problem. It couldn’t figure out how to deal with an aggressive foreign leader whose behaviour appeared to threaten war.

That foreign leader was Germany’s Hitler. In 1938, the Brits looked at his threats--and chose peace.  

Prominent citizens advocated for Germany’s ‘cause’. In the media, those who called Germany dangerous were scorned. Politicians worked hard to sell the idea that peace was better than confrontation.

Why choose war when you could have peace?

Britain had fought a devastating war against Germany just twenty years earlier. That war was called World War One. It was supposed to have been the War to end all war.

Now, twenty years later, England looked like it could go back to war—against the same enemy.  England had lost an entire generation fighting Germany in World War One. Now, they could fight again?

How could you argue a position that would lead to war?

In 1938, Hitler was strong. He had guided Germany through the aftermath of a lost war. He gave Germans a sense of national pride. Most Brits opposed Hitler. They didn’t like what he stood for. But few had the stomach for another fight with Germany. Many just wanted peace. It didn’t matter the cost—just so there’d be peace. 

Appeasement sounded a lot better than war. Wouldn’t appeasement bring peace? How could England go wrong with that?

Today, Israel has the same problem. It can’t figure out how to deal with an aggressive enemy. Over the last sixty-plus years, Israel has had to defend itself repeatedly against Muslims intent upon destroying the Jewish State. Now we could end up fighting again--this time against (possibly) a nuclear Iran?

We all fear war. That fear often gives birth to appeasement. In the face of another Arab-Israel war, how could Israel go wrong with appeasement?

Like their English ‘predecessors’ of 1938, many Israelis today are weary. They are tired of seeing death. They want peace. In fact, they’ll do anything for ’peace.’

In 1938 England, the seductive lure of appeasement filled the air. Many in the ruling elite stood first in line to fight for the ‘peace’ that appeasement would bring. The ruling elite spoke for everyone: peace was better than war.    

Today, Israel's elite melts before the same seduction. They say we must accept Arab demands. Otherwise, they argue, how could there be peace?

In 1938, many Brits said the same thing. They said, give Hitler what he wants. Otherwise, there’ll be no peace.

In 1938 England, those who opposed Hitler paid a price. We may remember Winston Churchill as the man who saved England. But in 1938, more than a year before Germany started World War Two, Churchill was not popular. He was an outcast. He was called a mindless war-monger. He was scorned for advocating confrontation with Hitler.  

To confront Hitler surely meant war. At least appeasement raised the possibility for peace. Wasn’t peace better than war?

That September, 1938, British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain travelled to Munich and signed his famous (or infamous) ‘appeasement’ letter with Hitler. Many cheered. They had their ‘peace.’ Appeasement had worked.  

Churchill was furious. He may have (arguably) set the foundation for his future wartime rhetoric when he criticized Chamberlain with the words, ‘You were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour [appeasement] and you will have war.’

That’s how World War Two started. England ‘gave’ land (Czechoslovakia) for ‘peace’. But that deal only encouraged Hitler—and England ended up with the war it had wanted to avoid.

The leaders of Israel today face the same nasty choice. It’s a choice we don’t want to talk about. But it’s there: the choice between dishonour (appeasement) and a confrontation that could lead to war.

But as Israel talks ‘peace’, the Arabs want Mohammed’s army to massacre Jews. Confronted with such hate, Israel’s leaders imitate Neville Chamberlain. They desire to appease an implacable foe. They seem desperate to wave a paper that says, ‘peace.’ 

Churchill was right. Chamberlain had to choose between war and dishonour. He chose dishonour—and got a much nastier war than the one he was so desperate to avoid.

Our leaders are like Chamberlain. They refuse to accept that ‘Palestine’ wants war, not peace.

It’s true. Arabs want their Palestine to replace Israel. They want to erase Israel. That’s why Mahmoud Abbas hangs a map in his office that shows ‘Palestine’ in place of Israel.

That map means one thing. ‘Palestine’ means war.

Our leaders have only two choices--confrontation or dishonour. If they make the wrong choice, they will chose dishonour—and then get a much nastier war than the one they so desperately believe they can avoid.

In that nastier war, Israel will suffer. But Israel will survive. ‘Palestine’ won’t. ‘Palestine’ will be destroyed.