Is this what the US now calls "diplomacy" with Israel?

 (Last update: October 29, 2021)

On October 21, 2021, Israel Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced that Israel was declaring six Palestinian NGO's (Non-Government Organizations) as 'terrorist" (here). Within hours, the US was reported to "slam" Israel over this announcement (here). The US, apparently, was angered because Israel had not given the US any 'advance' intelligence information to explain this move (ibid). Shortly after that accusation by the US, Israel denied the accusation (here), and declared it had already given the US that information  (ibid). 

The US was not amused by this pushback. It refused to budge from its accusation. It responded to Israel by 'doubling-down': it accused Israel again of not disclosing anything to the US in advance of this matter (ibid),

All of this transpired this past weekend, beginning Friday, October 21st. But now, a new week, the US digs its teeth yet again into Israel.  A US State Department spokesman has now insisted that Israel did not provide the US with advance notice that these six Palestinian NGO's were to be classified by Israel as "terrorist" (here).

Notice what this tempest-in-a-teapot is all about. First, it is not about the US catching Israel in a lie. In fact, the US does not even allege that Israel was exaggerating its claim of 'terrorist' against the six Palestinian organizations. Neither does the US assert that six NGO's have been unfairly defamed. 

The US merely accuses Israel of a kind of 'bad faith'--a failure to give advance notice. Surely, this is an odd accusation. I cannot remember the US having used such an allegation against any other ally. 

The accusation itself is strange. It makes the US sound as if it is simply whining, "you never told us!" This is important?

Such an accusation begs the question, is Israel supposed to tell the US in advance about every Defense Ministry decision it makes to secure Israel's safety? More important, does Israel, alone among US allies, have some kind of unique obligation to give to the US advance notice of such a move?

The US does not say. It refuses to address the question.

It appear clear that the Biden Administration uses here a vicious double standard it does not apply to others. That is to say, the The Biden Administration seems to expect from its Jewish ally what it never expects from other allies: detailed explanations about Israel's internal national security issues. 

What is disturbing about this US whining is that it was done at all. This accusation came from the US State Department--the US's Diplomatic 'center'. After Israel responded to the US that it had in fact provided the US with a detailed report, in advance, on its decision to name these Organizations as terrorist, the US State Department did not respond diplomatically by saying, "we have no comment on this Israeli denial right now because we are looking into the matter, to see if we were in error'. 

That would have been a proper 'diplomatic' response. That would what been what  Israel should have received from the US. But that is not what Israel got. Instead, it got a doubling-down of the original accusation--as if Israel was some kind of international social outlaw that needed--and deserved--both constant oversight and constant rebuke.

Is this how the US now defines its "diplomacy" with Israel? It will now play bully?

 If Israel has evidence that these six organizations are terrorist, it should stand firm: just as the US repeated its complaint to Israel, Israel should repeat its original decision--we will treat these organizations as terrorist-linked. 

If Israel does decide to yield to this bullying, it will send a very bad (for Israel) signal to the world. Nothing good will happen for Israel if, suddenly, the world sees it can be so easily bullied. 

Israel must stand firm on this issue. 

Does Israel collude with the US and the Palestinian Authority?

 

Yet again, we in Israel read about a US attempt to butt into Israel’s business (here).  This time, October, 2021, the meddling is about a US demand that Israel grant permission to the US so that the US can open a formal Consulate, not for Israel, but for 'Palestine'--in Jewish Jerusalem. That is, the US position is that Israel should allow the US to service a diplomatic presence inside sovereign Israel to service a not-yet existing State that is currently dedicated to the destruction of Israel.

If Palestinians want a Consulate, their chief administrative city is Ramallah, not Jerusalem. Ramallah is where most Palestinian Authority (PA) official business is done. Yes, we know that a Consulate does not have to be in a state’s central administrative city. But in a city not even part of that not-yet ‘state’? That’s unheard of.

A US consulate for the PA belongs in a city controlled by the PA. Jerusalem is not in PA territory. It is in Israeli territory. Jerusalem is not located on Palestinian real estate. Jerusalem sits on Israeli real estate. Jerusalem is not controlled by Palestinian authorities. It is controlled by Jewish authorities.

Why should the US put a US Consulate for the PA inside Israel?

The PA covets Jerusalem. If that’s the case, the PA must win Jerusalem in war—or through a surrender-without-war by Israel. Neither looks likely to happen anytime soon—unless, that is, the US butts in and makes what amounts to anti-Israel demands on Israel that will help the PA win-by-Jewish-surrender.

The PA is persistent. It has been claiming that Jerusalem—and all of Israel—is not Jewish, but is instead Islamic Palestinian territory. The PA has been making this claim since before the 1992/3 Oslo Accords.  

The PA wants Jerusalem for its US Consulate (not Ramallah, or any other place actually controlled by the PA) because the PA doesn’t want a Consulate on land it controls. It wants the Consulate on land Israel controls.

The PA has a plan. That plan is very simple--and very clear: the PA wants a complete conquest of Israel. It wants such a complete conquest so as to be able to rename the Jewish Israel as an Islamic-only 'Palestine'; and in the short term, it will certainly attempt to put its own facts-on-the-ground in Jerusalem.

The PA has been working on taking over Jerusalem for some time. Already, it has gotten the UN to change the name of the Temple Mount from its Jewish name to a Muslim name. It has gotten the UN also to delete all connection between the Jewish Temple Mount and its Jewish roots. Taken literally, the PA could now claim that, because the Temple Mount is exclusively a Muslim-only site, Jews should be banned from that site.

The PA cries aloud over the supposed sins of a Jewish 'Judaization' of their city Jerusalem. But at the same time, the PA works day-and-night to Islamicize virtually every nook and cranny of Jerusalem. It accuses Israel what they themselves attempt to do—take over Jerusalem inch-by-inch.

The PA would love to see a US Consulate for the PA in Jewish Jerusalem. It could legitimize the PA claim of ownership over Jerusalem. 

The US wants this Consulate. Therefore, it declares it will form a joint "team" with Israel to explore the idea of opening a US Consulate for ‘Palestine’ in Jewish Jerusalem.

This is maddening. I can think of no other sovereign state that has to put up with such nonsense. What’s even more maddening is that Israel should be pressured to discuss the possibility that it must accede to this demand. But here we are, discussing that very possibility.

In theory, Israel has already said, ‘no’, to the US demand. But is that correct? Did Israel really say no, or did Israel say something else, leaving the door open to US-Israel discussions?

The US faces a problem: if it wants a new Consulate, both the US and the sovereign State where that consulate will open must approve the move. That is, before the US can open a Palestinian Consulate in the State of Israel, the US needs Israel’s approval, not PA approval.

If I am correct about that, think what this means. The US has to negotiate with Israel—not the PA—to open this Consulate for the PA. This US need to negotiate with Israel proves that Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem is real. The recognized need for the US to get Israel’s approval in this case tells you something too many wish to forget: Jerusalem belongs to Jews, not Palestinians--and the US understands this!

According to rumor, Israel appears to be thinking about giving its approval to allow a US bureaucracy that will exist to help a foreign, hostile state-to-be (Palestine), to operate inside Israeli territory. Why would Israel do that? Giving to the PA what it demands here compromises Israel’s sovereign rights in Jerusalem, for it acknowledges implicitly that the PA has land rights in Israel. Why would any State do this for an enemy who offers no concessions but makes every demand?

At the moment, Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is silent about the matter. Does Israel actually prepare to collude with both a potentially incompetent US Administration and a rabid, implacable enemy to give that enemy an official foothold inside Israeli territory? It might be. 

Given PA lust for every inch of Jerusalem, where do you think such a decision by Israel could lead? 

Stay tuned. This nonsense may be just beginning.

Why there is no two-state solution

The original idea of a two-state solution for the Arab-Israel conflict was to create "two states for two peoples". Specifically, there would be Israel for Jews, and a new "Palestine" for Arabs. Today, more than a quarter-century later, only one of these two-state exists--Israel. "Palestine" has been stillborn.

Why?

One reason--perhaps the main reason--could be an impediment few are willing to recognize or discuss or debate. That impediment has a name, one which has never been spoken. That impediment is called, the "eliminationist narrative".

An eliminationist narrative is a "story (or vision)" whose purpose is to help eliminate some person or group. The strategy of such a narrative is simple. First, the narrative demonizes the object to be eliminated. Next, it delegitimizes that object. Then, it calls for the object's elimination--or, more precisely, for its destruction or cancellation or removal.

An eliminationist narrative weaponizes rumors and lies. That's the best way, it seems, to make an eliminationist narrative reality.   

In the US, former US President Donald Trump was the object of an "elimination narrative". So was the 'Tea Party' of the early 2000s (here).

With both Trump and the Tea Party, the chosen eliminationist strategy had its intended effect. Both lost their position on America's political stage. Both were effectively "cancelled". The eliminationist narrative used against them worked.

Israel is also a target of an eliminationist narrative. It, too, is targeted for elimination.

You can see how the Palestinian eliminationist strategy works against Israel by following how the "Palestinian narrative" is implemented by both Palestinian Authority (PA) officials and by the Authority's 'friends' across the world.  

These individuals (and entities) energize the Palestinian narrative through anti-Israel speeches, public pronouncements and diplomatic strategies aimed against Israel. Each works to forward the ultimate goal of the Palestinian eliminationist narrative. 

To begin with, Palestinians work to eliminate Jews from Israel and from Israel's holy sites. They do this by proclaiming, for example, that the Temple Mount is Muslim only. They proclaim that Jews have no rights to the Temple Mount. They declare that the Temple Mount is for Muslims only. They pursue diplomatic strategies that have made the Temple Mount officially an Islamic site exclusively. The Jewish connection to the Temple Mount is severed. 

Palestinians call for riots to defend the Temple Mount against Jews. They call for all-out war against Jews and/or Israel to "defend' the Temple Mount--against Jewish 'defilement'.

These actions against Jews, the Temple Mount and the Jewish Jerusalem are only the tip of a very deep anti-Israel iceberg. The rest of that iceberg focuses exclusively on Israel's very existence.

The Palestinian Narrative is supposed to be the embodiment of what Palestinians call their Palestinian "national struggle". But this Palestinian "national struggle" is not a struggle for something (like statehood). It is the "struggle" against something (namely, Israel).

The "Palestinian Cause" is not a struggle to create a free and independent State. Yes--according to many pro-Palestinians--the "Cause" was supposed to have been about a 'national Palestinian liberation' in order to establish a State (here). But now, many believe that that goal had actually been  abandoned years ago (ibid).

Some pro-Palestinian advocates now assume that the "Palestinian Cause" is specifically about the struggle against Israel (here). The goal of this struggle is simple: to erase Israel, and to replace Israel with an Arab-Muslim state. 

The "Palestinian Cause" is now an eliminationist 'narrative'. It "struggles", yes. But only to eliminate the Jewish State--and all things Jewish about the Middle East.

We know this "eliminationist" approach to Israel is true because we have repeatedly seen maps of the to-be-created-Palestinian state. Those maps all present the same vision. 

You see, the map of the new, wannabee 'Palestine' exactly matches the map of the existing State of Israel. This means that the wannabee 'Palestine' wants to replace Israel on the map.

This is no accident. Don't take my word for it. Do a google search (as of October 14, 2021): first, search for "the official map of the state of Israel". Look at the map of Israel. 

Then, second, do another search for "the official map of the state of Palestine". Look at the map of "Palestine". 

Compare the two maps. They are identical. Exactly the same. The meaning of this similarity is, the new Arab-Muslim Palestine will, when created, erase Israel from the map of the Middle East--and from the map of the world.

The Palestinian eliminationist narrative is an "eliminationist roadblock". No desire for "two states" for Jew and Arab can ever get over or around this roadblock. It is permanent.

If you want a real two-state solution in the Middle East, you must first deal with this roadblock. But no one cares to do that. it's too complicated. It seems insurmountable. 

This is the reason there is no two-state solution: the Palestinian narrative does not speak about peace with Israel--or about living side-by-side with Israel. Instead, it speaks repeatedly and exclusively about replacing Israel. 

That is why there is no two-state solution.

A history lesson too many choose to ignore

Note: Please excuse the syntax, punctuation and organization problems in the second half of the essay. I have an unsolvable problem with the blog program)

Six individual news stories recently appeared on my computer screen--at the same time of day, on the same date and on the same online news site. More important, these six stories may not appear to be related--but they are.  

These six stories, while very different, nevertheless suggest a chilling reality about Israel. The six stories are, in no real order, about: (1) former Israel Prime Minister Golda Meir; (2) an Israeli official located in what Jews call Judea-Samaria (and what gentiles and others call 'the West Bank’); (3) an Israeli NGO (Non-Government Organization); (4) the World War Two era Auschwitz death camp; (5) a statement about the Arab-Israel conflict; and (6) another story about Iran’s pursuit of a nuclear bomb.

If you are wise, you’ll take note of these stories. They remind us that we cannot ignore history, particularly an ugly history. If we ignore that ugliness, we will surely be doomed to repeat it.

A look at recent modern history tells us a grim lesson. The world ignores Jew-hate. The world seems indeed ready to repeat an old, murderous story. History has taught us nothing.

The six news stories above appeared during the morning hours of October 7, 2021. They all appeared on the online news site called, arutzsheva.  These stories were all new to the day’s news cycle. Nevertheless, the stories remind us of a modern 80+-year record of Jew-hate, a record that continues to this day.

The Holocaust was a period of history that ran from app 1939-April 1945, when World War Two engulfed the world. It was a period when Nazi Germany created a “Final Solution” for the “problem” of Europe’s Jews.

That Solution was simple. It would completely remove Jews from Europe once-and-for-all-time. Nazi Germany’s war and industrial machinery would work together to murder millions of Jews.

The problem of what to do with the hated Jews of Europe would finally be “solved”. Therefore, beginning in 1942, the already-existing Auschwitz concentration camp became the largest of the Nazi’s extermination camps (here). By the time World War Two ended in 1945, perhaps 1.1 million Jews had been murdered there (ibid). 1.1 million. In just one death camp alone.

Altogether, some 6 million Jews were murdered by Nazis and their friends in the Holocaust. This Holocaust is what too many choose to ignore.

The hate that made the Holocaust possible is back. Actually, it never went away.

That same Auschwitz of World War two was again in the news 76 years later--on October 7, 2021. Auschwitz was back in  the news because Jew-hate still exists. 

That hate has now reared its ugly head again inside Auschwitz itself, in the form of anti-Semitic slogans—and Holocaust denial epithets--painted on nine barracks in one of Auschwitz’s camps (here). Jews in Europe termed this statement, “an outrageous attack on the symbol of one of the great tragedies in human history” (ibid).

Jew-hate is alive-and-well in Auschwitz--again. It is a cancer that has never disappeared. 

The second story looked at another October day--October 6, 1973, when the Yom Kippur war broke out in Israel. Golda Meir was Israel Prime Minister at the time. Because October 6, 2021 was the 48^th anniversary of that war, dozens of documents from Israel’s state archive were released to the public (here). They reveal that Mrs. Meir was “depressed” by  pessimistic reports from the battlefield.  She is reported to have sent a message to US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger “begging him to send planes and tanks” to Israel” (ibid). 

Later that same day (October 6^th), archive documents further suggest she also “seemed pessimistic regarding the likelihood of obtaining financial and military assistance from abroad. ‘We have very little help from other countries … In general, people don’t like Jews, and especially not weak Jews. They’ve thrown us to the dogs’ (ibid).

Ask yourself, would any country today wish to throw Israel to the dogs? If you believe the answer is, no, you live in a fool’s Paradise.  

The third news story was about an Israeli leader who is probably little known outside Israel. He is Yossi Dagan, the Jewish leader of the Samaria Regional Council in what most outside Israel call, “the West Bank”. He was angry. He revealed that he had written a scathing letter to the UN Special coordinator for the Middle East (Tor Wennesland) (here).

It seems that in an August, 2021 speech to the UN Security Council, Wennesland had falsely accused Jews of Israel for having attacked “a Palestinian Arab when it turned out that the Palestinian was actually the one who had thrown stones at Jewish residents near the community of Homesh in Samaria” (ibid). Angrily, Dagan had demanded an apology. So far, there has been no apology (ibid).

At the UN, Jew hate lives on. That hate has never ended. The horrors of World War Two has had little impact on the UN's attitudes towards Jews. 

The fourth news story was about the anti-Israel NGO, B’Tselem. This NGO receives money from Europe specifically, it is charged, to find ways to delegitimize and to demonize Israel. B’Tselem is an anti-Israel Israeli organization. It supports Palestinian Jew-hate.

This B’Tselem story revealed that B’Tselem had accused Israeli Jews of setting fire to a building which in fact had been set ablaze by Palestinian Arabs (here). A video confirms that B’Tselem had lied about Jews,

That Jews anywhere would work so openly with Jewish enemies is disgusting. But it happens. It  happened in the

Holocaust. It happens today

he fifth story was a news video that had appeared originally

 on the pro-Israel site, MEMRI. It is a short video of a Palestinian who is (here) a member of the anti-Israel Palestinian Fatah Party. This Palestinian states that the Arab-Israel conflict was actually about the Palestinian struggle to remove the Jewish Israel “in its entirety” from all land between the [Jordan] River and the [Mediterranean] Sea (ibid).

If you look at a map of Jewish Israel, you will see that Israel currently sits on land that is between the “River and the Sea”. Therefore, whenever someone says –or more commonly, chants--‘From the River to the sea, Palestine will be free”, they refer to the complete removal—and erasure—of Israel from that tract of land; it is the chant of Arab conquest.

Jew-hate is alive. Many are eager to see Israel disappear. They incite Jew-hate to accomplish that goal. They sing for Israel to be erased. They would gladly cheer for another “Final Solution”.

For them, Hitler was a failure. He simply did not do a good enough job on the Jews.

The last of these six news stories was about Iran (here). Iran spends more time talking about erasing Israel from the world map than anyone else. Iran obsesses over destroying the world’s only Jewish state.

No one confronts Iran about this murderous obsession. Instead, nations court Iran—the same way England’s Neville Chamberlain courted Adolph Hitler—to appease.

What was true during the Holocaust is still true today. Preachers and academicians once again call to harm Jews.

 What was true during the 6-Day war is still true today: if Israel were seriously attacked, few nations would provide Israel with military assistance

Israel is alone. The reality of the Holocaust was that, beginning 80+ years ago, there was a widespread bloodlust to see Jews killed. Now, these six news stories—appearing at the same time on the same date in 2021—clearly remind us that that bloodlust may be as strong as ever

If the world chooses to ignore how yesterday’s Jew-hate revives, the world will be doomed to repeat the consequences of that hate. Only this time, the world won’t get off so easily.