Ira Glunts writes:
The public disagreement between Israel and the U.S. over continued settlement expansion
in the West Bank and Jerusalem has heated up considerably today. At a cabinet meeting on
Sunday, Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rejected the Obama administration's request for a
halt to construction of a planned settlement in Sheik Jarrah, located in Israeli occupied
East Jerusalem.
The disputed site is owned by settlement supporter Irving Moskowitz, a wealthy American doctor who
bought the property in 1985. It is the present site of the Shepherd Hotel and was once the
residence of the Grand Mufti Haj Amin al-Husseini. The location borders on a
Palestinian historic district which was described at the Israeli Channel 1 web site as a
"time bomb since 1985." The municipality of Jerusalem has prevented the
development of the site because of Palestinian sensibilities until recently.
The request to refrain from building on the property was delivered to Israeli
Ambassador Michael Oren by State Department officials within the last few days. According
to Ha'aretz, Oren told the Americans that
Jerusalem is no different from any other part of his country and that Israel would not
accede to their demand.
In his speech to the cabinet , Netanyahu declared, "Jerusalem is united, it is the
capital of the Jewish people, and its sovereignty is not open to debate." He further
added that any Jew has the right to build anywhere in Jerusalem. The Prime Minister's
statement received support from opposition member of parliament Yoel Hasoon (Kadima), who
said,"the American request to refrain from building in Jerusalem is not legitimate.
Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and the Jewish people, and is not a
settlement…."
Further evidence that Israel and the United States are far from resolving settlement
expansion dispute was the postponement of this
week's schedule meeting between Special Envoy George Mitchell and Defense Minister
Ehud Barak. There has been no official confirmation of when the next meeting between the
two will occur.
Weiss adds:
Isn't this the whole enchilada? Isn't this what Obama promised in the Cairo speech, a shared Jerusalem? Where does Obama's vision go from here?
Note that Moskowitz is an old Netanyahu friend who reportedly pressed him into opening the Hasmonean tunnels in the Old City back in the 90s, leading to Palestinian riots. Moskowitz funded David Wurmser, one of the visionaries of the Bush Administration, while he was at the American Enterprise Institute pushing for a war with Iraq, which, lo, came to pass. The peace process, quoth Moskowitz, is "a slide toward concessions, surrender and Israeli suicide."
We have an answer for the Obama Dictate! http://www.obamahill.tk
" Irving Moskowitz, a wealthy American doctor …" Actually, although he was once a doctor, Moskowitz got his wealth from a string of bingo parlors for Florida seniors.
What the hell is WRONG with obama?? He's supposedly the master politician. Why can't he use his skills????? He needs to address the nation and address the world on the matter of the Middle East. This should be the speech of a lifetime. He should use all of his charms and rhetorical gifts. He needs to talk frankly about what the war in Iraq did to this country—its reputation, its economy, its standing in the world. Trillions wasted, thousands of dead americans and hundreds of thousands of dead iraqi. He needs to make clear that the united states is powerful and has many means at her disposal to resolve conflicts. He needs to make absolutely clear that while we have serious differences with the nation of Iran, there will be NO violent conflict, which would cost our shattered economy trillions more and lead to consequences too horrific to imagine. He needs to go through the usual pandering bullshit about lovely israel but then make clear that the ONLY way toward peace is through justice and the rule of law…We are NOT going to compromise our principles (isn't that what he's always claiming?) He needs to be ultra savvy and get much of the MSM on board behind him and see that his remarks are received favorably. He needs to enlist the most powerful people globally..yes there ARE ways for him to do this. We can marshall an international coalition to attack iraq but not to make peace, even though the entire world has supported the same consensus for resolving the conflict for 30 years? Bullshit. This is cowardice. Things have reached a showdown with Netanyahu. The time is NOW.
One thing Obama should do is move the US embassy to Jerusalem the Jewish capital. Also freeing Pollard would help.
You need to go to the Israelis with a nice warm hamentaschen in one hand and a fucking GRENADE in the other. Let them pick. They called you a CUSHI! You gonna put up with that Obama, or are you gonna show Benjamin Jew boy who's boss? You're supposed to be a president.
Now we see from this Anti-semite incitement to violence, "throw grenades at Jews" Benjamin "Jew Boy?" I'm reporting this And very strange if we are going to go by what the general population says about people then Obama should "throw grenades" as you say at every country because I'm sure it's possible to find a random guy to call Obama a cushy in every nation on the planet.
I just reported you for being Israeli Asshole
Another racist comment. I think you should be banned. I am a Jew and I demand respect. Days are gone where anti-semites can "report" Jews for existing. Even if all the users on this website are not anti-semite you give this forum a shameful blight for not purging you
Israelis aren't Jews. Israelis are vermin.
Thank you, in behalf of all aware and responsible Americans, both Jews and Gentiles! You stated are POV very well! And another small achievement, you also stated the intelligent heart and mind of much of the World!
are=our sorry–I was very moved by your comment.
I'M a JEW YOU'RE an ISRAELI You're filth from the sewer and your president is a rapist. Fuck off.
Again we see classic dehumanization of Jew, first separate the Jew from their nation, then from being human. Now Jews are "Vermin" as you put it. And Vermin can be wiped out can't they? Is that what you want? Go ahead and say what you really feel. I'm going to report this one too.
I agree. I am getting sick and tired of people who seem to let off steam by letting off hatred and mouthing off because they can hide behind the web. If you have nothing intelligent to say, read, and shut up.
You're a worm not a Jew. Drown yourself
Exactly! At least with the hamentaschen in one hand and a fucking FOREIGN AID CUT OFF in the other! As you say, let them pick. You gonna be an Uncle Tom Truman, or Shrub, or are you gonna show Ben who's boss? All you have to do is use your political capital and use the bully pulpit a little over Congress as you did in Cairo!
An ISRAELI calls ME racist!!!!!!! Who can bear the SMELL of these "people" any longer????
Obama should hold his ground. If Israel wants peace with the Arab world, the cessation of territorial expansion is crucial towards that reasonable end. If expansion is a higher priority than peace, then there will be none, which is a MUCH WORSE outcome than losing a few hundred acres of development rights.
That's not "throwing grenades at Jews." It's rising up in righteous anger at Israel's regime throwing US taxpayer funded grenades at Freedom's Underground Railroad. Righteous Jews, both in diaspora and in Israel, do not rubber-stamp Netanyahu, a half-man who has spoiled his US education and turned US values on their head and in the process, and who did the same with the highest Jewish values, those that seek to be a light to the World.
Netanyahu just told Obama to go to hell, Witty. It's all over the news. i agree completely that Obama should "hold his ground." Precisely what does that entail from your standpoint?
http://www.cafepress.com/cp/moredetails.aspx?show...
Jews wrote magnificent poetry, created one of the high cultures of the world, changed the shape of music for ever (bless you, Arnold Schoenberg!), suffered the tortures of the damned, and gave us a startlingly new vision of space and time. for WHAT??????? So that GARBAGE like eitanbenshlomo and his gang of miscreants can drag the name of Jews through the mud? So that the Jewish people come to be associated with idiocy, arrogance and brutality? um..no. The answer is no. Not while I can still manage to draw a breath.
YEEEEEAH man!
Pollard is a convicted spy and he belongs right where he is in prison.
http://www.cafepress.com/cp/moredetails.aspx?prod...
If they got a 'nuke israel' sticker, I'm in.
The holocaust is not the only thing Jews must 'never forget.' http://ingaza.wordpress.com/2009/02/04/next-time-...
Not compromising publicly or privately. The most dangerous consequence that Obama can levy is to abstain from UN General Assembly resolutions about Israel, rather than blocking them. Holding up money or weapons already agreed to would hurt US word generally. And, certainly any BDS action would be out of line.
Why should he abstain from UN resolutions for the peaceful remedy of the conflict instead of joining the world community and voting in favor of them, Witty????
RE: " any Jew has the right to build anywhere in Jerusalem" MY COMMENT: To paraphrase Netanyahu (slightly altered): It is 1938 and Israel (not Iran) is Germany.
I demand respect Err, if you havn't realized it yet, respect is earned, you can demand all you want but what you have earned here is… well it be too impolite to say.
Gee, that's really surprising, a zionist who scams the Goys.
Yeah, we should do more to serve Israel's interests at the expense of our own. What else were goys put on earth for?
What gives you the right to speak for all Jews? You have no right to do so, and neither does Israel. Lovelyisraelis is a proud Jew, aware of his heritage. He also is a proud American, aware of his heritage. That's why he does not have an internet icon and pen name glorifying an Israel drone death machine.
Exactly. Lebensraum is a killer of peace and justice. Israel should stop copying Nazi Germany.
How about a sticker like this: NO ISRAEL UBER ALLES
eitanbenshlomo – Thank you for the link asking for $10 contributionsto Obamahill. I immediately went over to B'Tselem's web site and gave them $100.
Why woudl the US want to move the US embassy to Jerusalem when Jerusalem is not recognized anywhere as Israel's capital. There is no such thing as a Jewish capital. Pollard said that Israel should bleed the US dry and throw it away. He would be very much at home in a fascist apartheid state like Israel, but he belongs in prison.
You don't deserve respect Eitan, because you do not offer any. You are a racist and an extremist who supports violence and human rights abuses. In fact, you give Jews a bad name. You eve give Israel a bad name, if that were even possible.
Don't tell me you believe Israel wants peace? Peace will be the keeper of Palestine. War erases it. It's got to be clear to everyone here by now that the creation of Israel was and is intended to wipe out Palestine. Follow the dots. Look at the pattern. Then look at the map! Forget the propaganda crap. Hamas this, suicide bombers that. I said it early on, Israel will shoot missiles at itself before there is any Palestinian state! You will NEVER see it happen. When Israel is destroyed, then and only then will everyone go home.
Yoel Hasoon (Kadima), who said,"the American request to refrain from building in Jerusalem is not legitimate. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and the Jewish people, and is not a settlement…." Well, since Israel is a big boy now, making big boy decisions, maybe it's time for them to pay for their own existence.
He said "Israelis" not Jews. And there is a huge DIFFERENCE.
Re:In his speech to the cabinet , Netanyahu declared, "Jerusalem is united, it is the capital of the Jewish people, and its sovereignty is not open to debate. These Zionist twits have so much nerve it isn't natural. I would give anything to have Natenyahu standing right in front of me. For sure he wouldn't walk away from me feeling like a man. He would walk away feeling like the twit he is. Obama has no power. If he goes against the program they will assassinate him. And they are 100 times more powerful now than in the JFK days. No hope!
"Obama has no power. If he goes against the program they will assassinate him. And they are 100 times more powerful now than in the JFK days. No hope!" Hehe. Yeah, he's totally screwed.
"…with idiocy, arrogance and brutality?" The latter two frequently are exhibited in the rage against Israelis, while occasionally idiocy is arguable. Israelis include peaceable people and inhabitants who are not Jewish. And not matter who they are, they don't deserve to be considered less than human.
So some would have Obama be a one-issue president, and that issue is the I-P conflict, an issue regarding of which a great many in the US are still just beginning to take notice. Of those in the US who have been interested in it previously, a great many are now beginning to change their mind. But Obama is supposed to be a decider, like the Great Bush? I don't think so.
Where does Obama's vision go from here? I think he's still lining up his ducks.
Obama is just one man and he can't slay the dragon all by himself, as convenient as that would be for the rest of us. He will do what needs to be done if there is a movement to lead him. But it is difficult to build a movement if people conclude that there is "no hope," as Tenma replies above. Imagine the future, hope for it, dream it, talk about it, write about it, infect everyone you know with your vision; movements are built by people who think they can have an impact on the future, not by people who have lost hope.
take back america,bomb israel.Got nukes?
Ah yes, the "smelly Jew" insult. And you put "people" in quotes. Like we aren't. Like it's ok to dehumanize us. You are an anti-semite of the first order.
oh yeah riteous anger grenades, riteous anger suicide bombings, etc. yawn.
Ok stop foreign aide to Palis too. I don't need your coupons
Eitan is the third most popular name in the United States for boys and it is my name as well as a Biblical figure.
no difference
Any Jew has the right to build anywhere in Jerusalem
No what we see is a deranged fanatic, who spouts inflammatory and extremist rhetoric, yet insists that he deserves respect for the simple reason that he happened to be born into a Jewish family. You are not a Jewish spokesman. You are one solitary person who has been brainwashed and is oblivious to reality or reason.
Constant references to the holocaust are made by you people. Focus on the facts at hand
Welcome
And you are a self hating Jew that makes war against your own nation
Where did I say there was no hope? Find that and maybe I'll address the rest of your moot points.
The facts at hand are in the link i posted. Read it. and hide your head in shame.
It will hurt more next time
I've spoken up repeatedly for Israelis of conscience. For the IDF refusnics, for courageous journalists like Gideon Levy and Amira Hass, for Israeli historians like Ilan Pappe who have had to endure death threats from their vile countrymen, for Bt'Selem's human rights workers, for people like Ezra Nawi, who the israelis are throwing in prison because he refuses to be a Nazi. These brave souls are heroes in my eyes. But 94% of the country are vermin. I'm sorry to report that, but it's a fact.
I see now that you were quoting PlanetMichelle, "Obama has no power. If he goes against the program they will assassinate him. And they are 100 times more powerful that in JFK days." But you did seem to agree with her when you said, "Hehe, yeah. He's totally screwed." But there is no need to get personal here; my point is that for any movement to succeed, it needs to be fueled by the image of a hopeful future. If we allow ourselves to become pessimistic, we are shooting ourselves in our collective foot. My other point is that to expect Obama to be our knight in shining armor without doing the hard work that needs to be done ourselves, is to set ourselves up for disappointment.
Only an anti-semite would claim that there is no difference.
Between Jews and Israelis? We are the majority and Israel is the Jewish state. Also for purposes of argument on this website you wouldn't dare criticize an Arab, Israeli or otherwise so let's not kid ourselves.
You aren't even making sense. There are millions of Jews who are not Israeli. There are millions of Israelis who are not Jews. You are an anti-semite for insisting that the terms are interchangeable. They are not. You are also an anti-semite for falsely claiming that every insult hurled at you personally is an insult of all Jews. News flash for you. You are not the be all and end all of Jewishness. People can insult you personally (although, personally, I wish they wouldn't) and that doesn't necessarily mean that they are insulting all Jews
"We are the majority and Israel is the Jewish state." Uhhh yeah. That may be one of those problems you will run up against with Americans because we don't do majority rule here nor do we do ol' time South African rule… The US is a representative democratic constitutional republic. With a written constitution that explicitly protect individual rights unlike the decades overdue, long promised Israeli constitution mentioned in their declaration of independence. (That promised to do much the same thing, could that be why the foot dragging?) Israel is twenty percent or so Arab. And I have to agree with lovelyisraelis on there being very few Israelis who are actually living the "shining beacon" vision of equal rights for all peoples as Israel was supposed to originally represent and that is Gideon, Amira, Akiva, and a handful of others who are in favor of a real fair and just peace agreement. I'd add Zeev Sternhell, who narrowly missed having his legs blown off by a bomb on his front porch. The Diaspora is of course quite different, witness Phil's site here. I live in Charlotte, North Carolina and we have an amazingly cosmopolitan city with churches and synagogues and mosques and no one killing each other over those religions nor are they stealing land or doing home demolitions. (Well, unless someone really wants one.) It has never been for me about Jews or Muslims or any of that. This is a rule of law/indigenous people issue for me with massive human rights violations by Israel to boot. I mean the Iranians I know never chant "death to America " to me – maybe its a political thing over in Iran and not the big old existential threat that Israel is trying so hard to sell? In relation to this mini-thread, it is clear at this point in time that the vast majority of Israelis are not interested in a peace that means a real state for the Palestinians on the land that the Israelis have illegally appropriated. Since peace in the Middle East hinges on solving this conflict with fairness and justice, that means the vast majority of Israelis are standing in the way. And while lovelyisraelis is quite blunt, the factual undertone is no less very real. That sets up a bad/sad scenario for Israel.
eitanbenshlomo, "And you are a self hating Jew that makes war against your own nation" Are you a Eretz Israel troll? You seem to be hewing a very fine, old, worn-out line that lost its lustre sometime ago.
Really it boils down to the simple question. Who owns the Land of Israel? I say Jews, you say Arabs. I think that is the basic discussion here. I really do not agree that the way to peace is to ethnically cleanse Jews from their homes in Judea and Samaria. Call me what you like (you already have) but my views are legitimate, I will fight for them, and I will build.
Maybe maybe not
righteous massacres, genocide and ethnic cleansing etc. yawn
exactly
There will be no peaces if nobody wants to compromise. America's interest is being Israel's friend. And It works both ways. It does not help Israel if Israel goes against america's interest.
"I don't need your coupons" You don;t but Israel does. As well as the 3 billion in aid, the loan guarnatees (ie. loans that Israel doesn't pay), the weapons and ammunition sent to Israel every time Israel stat a war or attack someone and the diplomatic cover at the UN, which prevents Israel being officially regarded as a pariah and terrorist state.
That might be a question if there was such a thing as the Land of Israel, but there isn't. There is a state called Israel that resides within Palestine. Jews own land inside the State of Israel yes. The real question is why do Israel steal land and refuse to return it? If Jewish settlers were to leave Judea and Samaria, it woudl be because of an agreement reached by the, Israeli government, in which case it woudl not be ethnic cleansing, but the return of illegal squatters to the State fo Israel. Your view are not based in law or morality, therefore, while you are entitled tot hem, they are not legitimate.
Are you a holocaust denier Eitan? "Focus on the facts at hand" When are you going to start?
Why of course Israelis should be able to live anywhere in Jerusalem they want. And being reasonable they will allow Palestinians to live anywhere in Jerusalem they want, starting with the ones ethnically cleansed from the West side in '48. And if Israelis want to live in a house in East Jerusalem owned by someone, they will purchase it if the owner is willing to sell. In fact if the owner happens to be a family who was cleansed in '48 and is allowed to go back, that owner might actually be willing to sell. And it would help if the Israelis attended a charm school to learn how to be good neighbors, not throw loud parties all night to celebrate a takeover, not throw garbage on Palestinian neighbors, not have the army impose curfews on the neighbors for every Jewish holiday or whim, etc.
At last you're honest about being a homical maniac Eitan?
I think Israelis should be forced to wear a yellow patch , not with a star but with the Palestinian coat of arms emblem. If they take it off they should go to the torture chamber where they put the master Arabs.
not the poster israeli, the Israeli Israelis.
nope. Ben is boss. I hate to say it, but it's true. if Obama didn't know it before, he knows it now. I don't know about Obama. I think he was groomed for this position by the bad guys. They plan this stuff way beforehand. Why else would CNN (Jews) have promoted him? That's why this stuff is hard to catch right away. We take things at face value spontaneously, as if things happen as a natural consequence to present events. These Jews have been scheming and planning for over a hundred years.It's all fixed. I didn't believe that completely until watching Obama vs Natenyahu and obviously there isn't anything Obama can do on the one hand, on the other he is toeing the neocon line. So which is it? The Obama vs Natenyahu is a front. The neocons are still in charge and things are going along as before. No "change."
Oh yeah? What right is that?
An Obama anthem! http://therearenosunglasses.wordpress.com/2009/07... Anyone who is not familiar with this website should be! I couldn't live without it.
Because the condemnation is also innaccurate. As a political trend, it would be an astounding wake-up call, and cause a great amount of political upheaval in Israel. It would be an intervention, which the right-wing would remember, far more severe than any implied US intervention in Iran. But, if he is determined to actually get to a real peace, he will have to do that heavy lifting, and stay alive long enough to enact it. I don't think Obama understood that his life could be in danger as a result of really not all that confrontational statements. He is just insisting that Israel implement their roadmap commitments, as the PA has recently made serious steps towards their implementation, and successfully.
The bigger shift in Israeli military and political eyes, is the change in intelligence relationship between Israel and the US. It is still strong on paper, but in voluntary information, it has slowed. With Israel considering actually aggressive political and military stances, that change that effects their ability to undertake those efforts is a tangible and material change. It is black and white compared to Bush. So much of the failures that are occurring now, are Bush administration failures, enabling.
It sickens me to watch Kahane on video. Why do you do that to a fellow Jew?
Hope for the change of the hope of the change!
Then the Jew hater seeks to define what is Jewish and what not
Calls for mass destruction of the Jewish nation "nuke Israel" are abundant on this website
Kahane Chai
Just say Jew, we know what you mean
Threat to kill are common on this website
President of Israel is Shimon Peres.
Force Jews to wear yellow patches. Common themes on this website.
Israel doesn't need it. We have a healthy GDP 3 Billion is a small fraction. Cut off all aide, to Israel and especially to the Arabs. We can go with Russia and China
Jews "scheming and planning" why are San Francisco people who are otherwise so great about human rights issues such anti-semites?
Jews didn't steal the land. Jews own the land. Arabs stole the land.
Please donate your money to MondoLies. MondoLies lives on your money. More Jews scamming Goys (your term). :-)
Convicted spies belong in prison? Does this apply to Saudi operatives who were caught spying in the USA? Why did they get out with no punishment at all? Hint: How much oil does Israel have… and what did James "F the Jews" Baker have to do with this???