Here is an interesting rumor to add to the murky mix of reports surrounding the Obama-Netanyahu confrontation.
According to Ron Kampeas of JTA, the widely reported story that the new Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren was summoned by State Department officials and told that the his government must halt its announced plans to build Jewish housing in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem is untrue. Kampeas claims that the reports were the result of an Israeli government disinformation leak whose purpose was to shift the settlement debate from the West Bank to Jerusalem. The Jerusalem Post also mentions that the reported showdown never occurred. Neither the Israelis nor the Americans have confirmed or denied this.
Ten days ago, following the reports of the Oren meeting, Prime Minister Netanyahu made a number of provocative statements at a cabinet session, which, although they did not directly address the purported State Department meeting with the Israeli ambassador, bluntly stated his intention to continue to expand the Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem in defiance of Obama’s previous requests.
Kampeas, who readers of this site may know is a settler himself, claimed that the Israelis planted the story about Oren and the State Department so Netanyahu could focus the settlement freeze debate on a construction project in East Jerusalem. It may be advantageous for the Israelis to center discussion on construction in and around Jerusalem, which has greater support among Israelis and possibly among American Jews, than in other area under occupation. According to Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler on IPS, "shifting the argument from the West Bank to Jerusalem was precisely what Netanyahu was looking for."
After his remarks at the cabinet meeting on Sunday, Netanyahu raised the ante when he mentioned the purported State Department showdown, and then challenged the Americans to stop him from going forward with construction in East Jerusalem. Speaking with government officials later in the day, Netanyahu expanded on the tone if not the substance of his earlier remarks to the cabinet:
In my previous term, I built thousands of apartments in the Har Homa neighborhood of Jerusalem, defying the entire world. Therefore, it is clear that I will not capitulate in this case – especially when we are talking about a mere 20 apartments.
Kampeas assumes Netanyahu’s public declarations of unwillingness to accede to the complete settlement freeze is just posturing in negotiations with the U.S., which both sides understand will lead to a compromise on the issue. Previously, both Secretary of State Clinton and Special Envoy Mitchell have referred to the ungoing increasingly acrimonious disagreement over settlement construction as a "negotiation."
As long as Obama and Mitchell insist on a complete freeze on settlement expansion, they are acting appropriately as a trial judge might issue a cease and desist order for a disputed action which is scheduled for adjudication. (See Helena Cobban, here.) But if the U.S. compromises and negotiates where and under what circumstances the Israelis will be permitted to build in the territories, they would then be acting inappropriately as representatives of the Palestinian people without seeking their advice or consent.
The bottom line is that building settlements in occupied territory is illegal and is an impediment to peace. The existence of the settlements is much of the problem, and increasing them increases the problem. How many times have we heard this same argument? How many world leaders and international organizations have supported the Obama demand for a complete freeze in the last weeks? Isn’t it the time to tell the Israelis, No?
The question now is: Can Netanyahu defy the entire world today as he did over a decade ago when he built the Jewish settlement on Jabal Abu Ghneim which the Israel’s call Har Homa?
He can defy it because the American congress is a bought whore for Israel. Unless Obama
has the same feeling for the Palestinians that he has for Black Americans, he will not use his political capital to go over the heads of Congress, using his (still) strong bully pulpit to talk directly the American people. The American populace as a whole voted Obama in, against the lesser force, much weakened by Shub’s 8 hears, proof in the pudding. It is probably more important what the close Jews around Obama think than what Obama thinks on his own. If both are smart, Obama will come down even harder on the settlements. On the other hand, Obama and crew might will probably once again kick the can down the road; they have certainly have already done it with our financial system.
typo corrections”
talk directly to
Shrub’s 8 years
Let’s see now.
Hussein-Obama is opposed to Jews building apartments in Jerusalem.
The US State Department summons the Israeli ambassador to make this clear to him, in no uncertain terms.
Along comes MondoLies and reveals to us that it is really all a nasty trick by the Israelis! Those tricky Jews WANTED to get berated by Washington. This is like those tricky Jews WANTED those Israeli buses to blow up, or those Israeli towns to be attacked by Hamas rockets, or that Israeli soldier to be killed or kidnapped.
When it comes to weird conspiracy theories, antisemitic bigots were always kings. You guys at MondoLies still are.
Jake in Jerusalem wrote:
“Those tricky Jews WANTED to get berated by Washington.”
Really. Hilarious. And Netanyahu *wanted* to bring up the J’lem settlements so Obama could bring the smack down on him too.
The only thing I’d say Jake is that this is a conspiracy theory not hatched here at all but sold by someone to this Kampeas guy, right?
Boy would I love to know him. Gotta bridge I’d like to sell him.
Sin,
You are correct, the crackpot theory didn’t originate at MondoLies – but Phil MondoLies chose to make an article out of it. MondoLies just LOVES propogandizing against Israel and Jews – knowing full well that MondoLies attracts gullible loonies with Jew-hating tendencies and minimal intellectual honesty, integrity, knowledge of history or geography. This is what makes MondoLies a Hate Site, even if some of the harmful ideas promoted here come from elsewhere.
what in the name of common sense is this jake guy saying these nasty things for ?
Mr Jake in jerusalem:
when a lie needs to be revealed or uncovered research and investigating is done then they are released: and if it is a criminal or civil offense …by gollie there are courts for that.
I can see your insensed with your wording you use, but be patient the truth always comes out in the end..that is inevitible and always true even if it takes hundreds of years to dig up. Scape goats or what ever you called it should be looked at too ! there is no reason to call people names when the truth is stairing you in face.
It is night time now,…but would you try and also say, ” someone rocketed the sun or stole it and use the palestinians as the reason for this or modo weiss ???
open your heart and mind and write something responsible. ( unless your ten years old and do not know better) I am shocked at the inmature resonses are these all ADULTS ?
more crazy nonsense. it will all end, and in tears too.
Interesting story.
Of course we should be talking about settlement de-construction not freezing as they are all illegal under international law, West Bank and Jerusalem alike.
I’d have thought it was in Israel’s interest to support international law and a two state solution which comprises 78% of the land between the Jordan and the sea, but hey if Israel wants to reject it that there’s always the one state solution.
Kampeas, who readers of this site may know is a settler himself
Yeah, and American taxpayers subsidized this Israeli Kampeas holiday home in the illegal settlements.
Why?
RE: “…Jewish house bought by Jews…”
FROM REUTERS, 07/22/09: …Israel annexed East Jerusalem and declared all of the city its capital after the 1967 war. Palestinians say Jewish settlement on occupied land could deny them a viable state.
The housing project is within a compound in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood where the now-defunct Shepherd Hotel stands. It was bought in 1985 by an American Jewish millionaire who has been funding Jewish housing projects in East Jerusalem.
Israel’s Jerusalem municipality said its planning committee, acting in “full transparency,” gave approval for the 20 apartments and pledged to preserve “the historic structure” at the site.
Palestinians have questioned the legality of the acquisition, saying the compound had belonged to the former grand mufti, the leading Muslim cleric in Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini. He went into exile in 1937 and died in 1974.
Israel designated the plot as “absentee property” after the 1967 war.
SOURCE – link to news.yahoo.com
RE: “That is a Jewish house bought by Jews over a hundred years ago.” – eitan
SEE: “Yes, You Can!”, by Uri Avnery, 07/27/09
(EXCERPT) “…Shepherd was built by Hajj Amin al-Husseini, the mufti who led the Arab Rebellion in the 1930s and became the Arab the Hebrew community most loved to hate.”
ENTIRE ARTICLE – link to original.antiwar.com
Doesn’t it disturb you eitan a bit that people like you demand constantly that Jewish ownership of land and buildings on Palestinian side must honoured, but on the same time you completely deny the Palestinians equal rights on West Bank and inside Israel. You “consider” that if a Jew once owned land in Hebron etc, that belongs to Israel. On the same time land and properties which belonged 40 to 60 years ago to Palestinians (Israeli citizens or occupied ones) is/was taken in rather questionable way and mostly without any compensations.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF ISRAELI THIEVERY: “The Siege of Gaza”, By Ramzy Kysia, “Counterpunch”, 07/27/09
(EXCERPT) In 1999, British Gas discovered huge natural gas fields, worth billions of dollars, in Palestinian territorial waters off the coast of Gaza. Israel has already built a horizontal pipeline to siphon off gas from at least one of these fields. If there is an unspoken reason for the siege of Gaza – this is it.
ENTIRE ARTICLE – link to counterpunch.org
ALSO SEE – link to globalresearch.ca
I am interested in how a book which is a religous book can be held as fact, when it is a faith based reason which may or may not be true.
The un and usa should have drawn lines and made laws against these things that are done in the name of god which in itself is bizzare and NOT NORMAL.
I am confused at the differences between what is zionist and what is jewish they seem to be the same in certain areas but completely different in facts and reality.
My mom read bedtime stories to me and today I do not expect to have the tooth fairy show up, faith based stories and religon should be kept to ones self and not made into temples, churches and masques and never imposed and told to people as facts. So does it not seem the whole table of ideas should be put on a board under pros and cons and decided upon by the usa government and stopped cause it only creates hate not love and brings invasions and occupation. I wonder if the roals were reversed how the media would cover the issues, let alone the powerful politicians whom run on a promise and then never back it up with actions: IF you run on a promise and don’t keep your word you should be , (out of there ) in a heart beat. this may help too in the usa political area, like when obama ran for president and still never has kept on track but does pretty much NOTHING AT ALL ! thats not productive for the people and industry to hire more people when the main man can not keep his word either. Send him packing lets have a dog for president they are loyal and mans best friend.
how in the world is it being allowed and what does the british government have to do with the palestinians still today, did they not screw up majorly when the belfour dec was signed enough not to be stealing the natral gas and how can the occupation be allowed to siphon the economical resources of anothers property. That seems a really bad thing to do, are they thinking of consequences, probably not.
If there is creedance to the stories of the occupation there will ultimately be a stail
mate between the usa and the occupation. Can the usa just recall the loans and stop giving the money and put tarriffs on all of the things they produce from the moe larry and curly which seem to be elected in the occupational government of paranoia over there ….things are really not good for anyones outcome at this pace of now siphoning the gas. The jerusalem problem can be solved by making that international due to religons there with no part played by either side in the protection and arming of troops from them let an outside entity like the Danish guard the old city and give back what was not theirs and based on …well lack of common sense or normality. How does the occupation ever expect to gain respect if all it is doing is illegal or imoral, can the world be so numb to what is going on…and the media,…where is the media ? The gas there could bring economic stability to Gaza why would the occupation steal it knowing the world will find out ? That gives a lot of truth to alot of the reading I have done here and other places. That is BRAZEN . as well as counter productive. The stories the occupational administrations used to say Arafat was the problem….now we know better. See Jake all that is needed is a bit of logic and wow I figured the siphoning is illegal and counterproductive …all on my own !