JTA: The Global News Service of the Jewish People

11/09/09 07:29 PM

Tom Friedman follows President Obama in talking about a dispute between Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab World. This is patently inadequate because Israel’s biggest problem is Muslim Iran which is not an Arab country.  Moreover, Friedman seems to have some trouble understanding that this is not a dispute about land, but rather over a matter or principle, i.e. the refusal of most Muslims and Arabs to accept the legitimacy and permanence of Israel as a Jewish State, i.e. as the expression of the self-determination of the Jewish People. Friedman also seems to ignore the current reality that the Obama administration is actively seeking to distance itself from Israel, whether or not that change will conduce to peace. The real goal is USA rapprochement with the Muslim World, in which context, Obama sees Israel as a liability. As for Friedman’s reference to Israeli settlements, he should recall the words of Winston Churchill who, in 1922, said that “the Jewish People should know that it is in Palestine as of right and not on sufferance”. It would also be good for Tom Friedman to remember that there have always been large numbers of Jews in the Middle East, including some who ---in each and every century--- lived between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. Of all extant Peoples, the Jewish People has the strongest claim to be aboriginal to Israel.  Tom Friedman is mistaken in thinking that Israel’s moral legitimacy depends on peace with its neighbours.  This is a very important point, because the foreseeable future offers little prospect of peace, but a very great need for understanding the moral basis of the Jewish People’s continuing presence in its ancient homeland.

11/09/09 11:11 PM

Tom Friedman is a smart guy, who understands the nature of the conflict here and why it isn’t going anywhere, who holds all the cards here and who has nothing to compromise with; and what he’s trying to say here, tactfully, is the following:

Let’s face it and just admit the undeniable fact, which is that Israel and its led-by-her-political nose, big mama, the US, will not allow the creation of any real viable Palestinian state on Palestinian land.  Well, the US, at least, will not go against anything that Israel will not agree to. It’s just not going to happen, and from the looks of things, no meaningful negotiations, much less any chance of peace agreement, will take place any time soon - not for a long time to come. But don’t be mistaken to think that that day will never come, for it will – maybe way in the future, but eventually it will – because what goes around comes around, and nothing lasts forever; not Israeli superior military power, not America’s unconditional support and protection, and not Arabs’ weakness. All that one day will come to an end – that’s the way history usually works - and Israel will then regret that it never listened to reason and grabbed the opportunity to make decent, honorable peace with the Palestinians and its other neighbors. I’m talking here about the kind of peace that will enable Israel to hold its head high among the civilized countries of the world who are starting to get fed up with Israel’s self-destructive mentality and unacceptable tactics.

So what’s the US trying to do by maintaining this charade of pretending to broker a pointless, unattainable peace agreement, which has no chance of materializing, between the all-powerful, non-compromising occupiers and the hopeless occupied, other than the phony appearance of it trying to do something, that is, which it knows to be futile and useless? Israel will never give the Palestinian any thing worth mentioning unless it feels it has no choice but to cooperate, and that the price of its intransigence and arrogance will be too high if it didn’t. And that day, one day, will come. History is rife with similar examples, and is also a great source of knowledge and wisdom, for those who seek it and are interested in learning from it, and that just doesn’t seem to include Israel, who, for the time being, isn’t showing any signs or interest in heeding any advice or learning any lessons, not from history or any one else – and that’s an ominous sign of a bloody future for all involved, especially Israel.

11/10/09 02:13 PM

Benign Neglect for the Peace Process -Noah Pollak
Thomas Friedman’s column today is utterly sensible and completely realistic. “The only thing driving the peace process today is inertia and diplomatic habit. …”
http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com/2009/11/benign-neglect-for-peace-process.html#links