The only way to read the following is in the light of a piece in Haaretz last week saying that the 11th commandment of Israeli life is Thou shalt not be a freier, and freier goes beyond its literal definition, sucker, to mean anyone who feels that he must be good to his word to others. Or, more precisely, to Others. Larry Derfner in the Jerusalem Post:
Obama knows, like everyone in the world knows, that on the matter of settlements, if you give this country an inch, it will take a mile.
That's what's so ridiculous about the dispute with the US over whether the Bush administration agreed to let the Sharon government build up settlements within certain limits: Even if such an agreement was made, we never held up our end.
How can we tell Obama to honor an unwritten pact that his predecessor made (or didn't make) with us, when we didn't even keep our word to his predecessor?…
So who are we kidding? We never kept our side of any May 2003 agreement over settlements with the Bush administration, if there was such a thing. In the six years since, settlement construction has eaten up an additional 2,000 dunams of the West Bank, according to a rough estimate by Hagit Ofran of Peace Now's Settlement Watch. So our telling Obama now that he's breaking America's word by insisting on a real settlement freeze is just plain gall – or, as we call it around here, chutzpa.
Related posts:
- Obama may be looking to abandon ’secret’ deal between the US and Israel on settlements
- Obama Letter Urging Action on Peace Process Says Not a Word About Settlements
- Is Obama going wobbly on settlements?
- Netanyahu thinks he’s pinned Obama on settlements
- Truckling to Netanyahu, White House removes word ’settlements’ from a statement
{ 29 comments }
I don't understand how the editors of the Jerusalem Post can get away with writing the truth like that. At the very least, one would think, the editors of the New York Times and Washington Post would look on and feel ashamed.
Because in Israel, the truth matters. On MondoWeiss, the truth is meaningless.
Every conservative newspaper has a Derfner — it helps fend off some of the critique about "bias."
"Because in Israel, the truth matters. " Even when the truth is that Israel lies.
That right there is what in my old neighborhood would be referred to as "ether" Well played.
Of course! We knew the Zionazis would pull a fast one. Enough of the bullshit. Bomb the settlements!
I was thinking the same thing! Well there is something good to be said about the illegal statelet.
Israel is a lie. There's an Arab saying : nothing comes out of the pot except what's in it.
cracker jack.
I do not agree with these articles. I think that the Jewish people have the right to live in the Land of Israel.
We should all support building of homes for Jewish people. I think it's really important that there is a strong Jewish presence in all parts of the land of Israel regardless of future foreign sovereignty agreements that may be imposed upon us.
How come nobody on this website complains when a member urges for the massacre of Jewish people living in Settlements? It's ok for you to have this kind of speech?
How come no one complains when Benny Morris publishes an Op-Ed in the NYT calling for a genocidal attack on Iran with nuclear weapons? How come no one complains when the right wing media in this so-called state of "Israel" constantly call for attacks on Palestinians? Just to set you straigt, "Eitan," I'd allow for a 48 hour warning period, then a demonstration bombing; then another warning, then bombing for real. (Far more warning than the Nazi Israelis give when slaughtering Palestinians.)
There's no such thing as "the Jewish people." There are Jews, and they come in many flavors. They are in no way a coherent ethnic group, or "people." This mythical "right" to steal Palestine doesn't exist. You're racists, thieves, and killers.
You're a racist, thief, and probably a killer. Bomb the settlements!
Calm down, Joe. Zionists tend to be outnumbered here. There's no need to flame. Eitan, I want Jews to be able to live safely in Israel. However they will not have a chance at safety until the Palestinian national question is resolved. The Palestinans can't create a viable state without the removal of many settlements. Alternatively, there could be talks on unifying the whole land under one government, with non-Jewish Palestinians given full rights. Which option do you prefer, or do you have another possibility?
Joe, please stop this. You'll be banned for sure if you keep advocating violence like this.
This is why I can maintain a (somewhat warped) affection and respect for the Israelis. They can be so refreshingly honest and straight-shooting, and their press is probably the freeest in the world. The country is so messed up, yet it has an appealingly vibrant quality. I am beginning the think that a one-state solution may be the only way to go. The moderate Palestinians and moderate Israelis might be able to form a sufficiently strong block to keep the extremists on both sides in check. Even if Israel remains a Jewish state, I think that the divisions between the non-Zionist haridim, the religious Zionists, and the secular Israelis could eventually tear the country apart.
The other possibility: all the thieves go back where they came from.
because when a Zionist says the same about Arabs – it does not get reported or censored either. this blog does not moderate comments
eitan is doing something called "point-scoring" – he keeps making superifical statements oh well, I think the palestinian people have the right to live in the "land of Israel" (historic palestine) too, eitan lets be a bit more specific
In the USA the truth regarding Israel and its activities is taboo in the MSM where most Americans obtain their news. That's why Mondoweiss exists. To try its best to undermine the blanket propaganda by our irresponsible Fourth Estate and de facto branch of government.
There certainly IS a Jewish people. We are a coherent society, in spite of 1900 years of diaspora. That Phil from northern eastern Europe, that my wife from Hungary, that my childhood friend from France, that people from Tunisia, India, Africa, South America think of themselves as Jews, IS the description of Jews as a people. Live with it. Its true.
Where will you go back to?
Just do it as the Cossacks are burning down Palestinian fields and shooting at their kids…then we can claim it's part of the "war on TERRORRRR".
Right on!!
The myth of a Jewish people is a romantic invention as is the dispora. Judaism was an evangelical religion that actively sought out new adherents during its formative period. Thus there are Jews in Hungary, France, Tunisia, India, Africa, South America as there are Catholics and Muslims in these countries. Sorry to break it to you, but the notion of a Jewish people is no more real than the Easter Bunny.
"We should all support building of homes for Jewish people. " Of course, inside Israel. The West Bank is not inside Israel.
"I do not agree with these articles. I think that the Jewish people have the right to live in the Land of Israel. " You mean the state of Israel. The West Bank is not part of that state.
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