Saturday, May 21, 2011 motzei Shabbat

1. Congratulations! If you are reading this, then the world did not come to an end today as predicted (more on that later).



All kidding aside, this was a very serious week in Washington. As noted in last week's edition, President Obama delivered another speech (here is the full transcript) to the Muslim World (since the first one in 2009 went so well).


And despite whatever things the President said that were acceptable, he made a major change in American policy by stating that:
"So while the core issues of the conflict must be negotiated, the basis of those negotiations is clear: a viable Palestine, and a secure Israel. The United States believes that negotiations should result in two states, with permanent Palestinian borders with Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, and permanent Israeli borders with Palestine. The borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines with mutually agreed swaps, so that secure and recognized borders are established for both states. The Palestinian people must have the right to govern themselves, and reach their potential, in a sovereign and contiguous state." (my emphasis)
What is the big deal about the "1967 lines"? Notice that the President did not refer to the "1967 borders".


To understand the 1967 lines, one has to understand the broad strokes of history of the Arab-Israeli conflict since at least 1948. In 1947, the UN Partition Plan divided what was left of the British Mandate for Palestine (most of which had already been carved off to form what is now Jordan) into a Jewish section and an Arab section. Neither side got what they wanted, but the Jews accepted theirs and the Arabs did not. The Jews declared independence on May 15, 1948, whereupon they were attacked = immediately - by armies from 6 Arab countries.



Fighting raged until June 11, 1948, when a UN ceasefire (actually declared on May 29) came into effect. The ceasefire lasted 28 days, but fighting renewed on July 8 and continued until July 18, when a second ceasefire came into effect. This second ceasefire lasted until October 15, when fighting resumed for the last time until January 7, 1949, when the last ceasefire came into effect.


In December, 1948 the UN General Assembly enacted Resolution 194, and in the first months of 1949, Israel entered into armistice agreements with (in order) Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. The so-called "Armistice Demarcation Lines" - famously known as the "Green Line" contained land then under Israeli control - which was about a third larger than the original lands allocated to Israel under the UN Partition Plan. The West Bank was occupied by Jordan and Gaza by the Egyptians - not by some fictitious country called Palestine.


The Green Line marked the "borders" at the start of the 1967 Six Day War. As the world knows, the result of that war (which was a war started by Israel in legitimate self-defence) was that Israel captured Gaza, the Sinai, the West Bank and the Golan Heights. Maybe the Arabs should have learned their lesson the first time that attacking Israel was not in their best interest.

Even though the territory comprised in the Green Line contained more than the original Jewish part of the UN Mandate, the territory was still very small and difficult to defend - at its narrowest point - and when a large part of the Israeli population and infrastructure would come to live and be located - it was only 9 miles from the western-most part of the West Bank to the Mediterranean Sea. Try defending that in an age of mobile armored warfare, let alone the good old style of warfare from the time of the Crusades.

The President is asking Israel to start negotiations with the Palestinians (where the heck did they come from - aren't they either Egyptians or Jordanians?) from indefensible borders. And even if some new Palestinian State is demilitarized - big deal - they just have to open their borders and let other forces flow through and attack Israel. My point is that, for starters, the insistence on using "1967 lines" totally ignores the results of a failed war resulting from Arab aggression foisted on Israel, and, in general, turns the Arab-Israel clock back to 1949.

A lot has happened since then that the President and the generally pro-Arab State Department are just choosing to ignore. Broken Promises: Obama Turns Back the Clock to 1949

But don't just take my word for it - here is an excellent article by Dore Gold - Israel's 1967 Borders Aren't Defensible - WSJ.com.


2. There Is (At Least) Another Problem - When will the world stop giving the "Palestinians" something (everything) for nothing? What are they - Pakistan?

The world has shipped billions of dollars in aid to the PLO and the PA with apparently no pre-conditions - the issue is stated quite well here - Days of Violence, Days of Mourning, Days of War:
"On one side is Israel, bone-weary for peace; on the other side, the Palestinians, who preach a steady diet of murderous anti-Semitism to their children and whose leadership has shown a fierce and burning hatred for Israel. It is stupid and morally indefensible to apply pressure to the former until there is a profound shift in attitudes by the latter. But thanks to President Obama, altering the rejectionist precepts of the Palestinians is less rather than more likely. Why should the Palestinians shift their stance if Obama is willing to do their bidding for them?"
When will the world wake up and smell the shwarma? The Palestinian leadership is no better than when Arafat ran the show - and in addition wanting everything for nothing and to have everyone else make concessions and do the hard lifting, they are simply not trustworthy - Commentary: Exposing Abbas | The National Interest.

3. What Did Bibi Do? In my humble opinion, Bibi gave it to the President pretty much right between the eyes - What Netanyahu Did Today - Commentary Magazine. Good on him!!




Here is the video of Bibi with the President, as well as the full text of his remarks:


Here is Rush Limbaugh's reaction - priceless!


Bibi's speech to Congress next week should be quite an event.

3. Other Reactions - a number of good articles:
and a video reaction:



4. From Natan Sharansky - A Moment of Moral Clarity - NYTimes.com

5. From 2008 - the power of this speech does not get stale with time


6. Osama The (Dead) Mass Murderer - may the bastard not rest in peace and may he take up residence in the deepest, darkest corner of hell with Hitler, Stalin, Mao and their ilk. These videos are bang on, in my opinion:









8. One of My Favorite Topics - Food - Food and Identity In Early Rabbinic Judaism.


10. Jews In Sports - There is a old joke that a Bar Mitzvah marks the time for a Jewish male that he realizes he has a better chance of owning a pro sports team than playing for one. Here is an article about the guys who were able to pursue the latter course - For the Record - by Max Linsky > Tablet Magazine - A New Read on Jewish Life.

By the way, on this subject - I strongly recommend that you read Sandy Koufax - A Lefty's Legacy - a really great read.



12. Can You Just Leave The Jews/Israel Out Of Things For Once? Please.....



15. From The Jewish World - a variety of links:

17. Rapture, Baby - (I hope that none of this offends my Christian friends) - returning to my reference at the start of this post, according to 89 year old evangelical Christian broadcaster Harold Camping, Judgement Day was to arrive today (and a half hour later in Newfoundland and Labrador - Canadian humor, eh!). Mr. Camping was also apparently wrong when in 1984 he said that Jesus Christ would return to the earth - I'm sure even I would have heard of that by now.



So the end of the world ain't happened yet today, but here are some related links:
18. The Onion's Week In Review - it's just satire, relax......


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