-5 Days Since Friday – Is Gilo East Jerusalem?
By Sherwin Pomerantz
All of us living here in Israel are just a couple of hours away from the start of the Jewish New Year, 5772, which begins at sundown. As the country winds down, the stores close, the streets get quiet and 95% of the Jewish population here, secular and religious alike, gather for their holiday dinners, another bombshell has fallen from Egypt and our Palestinian neighbors.
Yesterday the Israeli Cabinet approved the construction of an additional 1,100 apartment units in Gilo, a southern suburb of Jerusalem but well within the city limits demarcated by us after the Six Day War in 1967. According to most demographers, there are 40,000 people living in Gilo today. Many of the readers of this blog may recall that during the second Palestinian Arab uprising a few years ago, Gilo was attacked daily by live fire from Bethlehem, just across the valley to the west. Gilo itself is close enough to where I live (roughly in the center of the city) that at night we could hear the shelling going on from our bedroom window. A little scary to be sure.
Gilo like its northern counterpart Ramot, does, indeed, lie over the green line, as it were, but both areas were part of the city annexed by Israel in 1967. Both communities have grown dramatically as the population of city has increased. It is also important to note that Gilo, contrary to what is appearing in the papers today, is not in East Jerusalem but is south of the city in an area that was virtually uninhabited 44 years ago.
So, imagine the surprise today when in headlines in the local papers we find that Egypt is protesting the new construction and its Foreign Minister calls it an act of “Israeli Defiance to the International Community.” Remember, this is not a settlement, but a large neighborhood in Jerusalem proper.
It was not a surprise that the Palestinian Arabs objected earlier in the week, as their leadership objects to every new unit built anywhere they deem inappropriate even though all of this construction is a boon to their population as it provides work for thousands of Palestinian construction workers. As a matter of fact an attempt two years ago by the Palestinian Arab leadership to make working on these projects a crime met with incredible local resistance. As they found out, no one likes to have their government stick its hands in people’s pockets uninvited.
What is even more appalling is the article about this in Ha’aretz today, see
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/egypt-slams-israel-over-new-construction-in-east-jerusalem-1.387212
where Israeli columnists also call Gilo “East Jerusalem,” for which, as mentioned above, there is absolutely no basis in fact.
So, even though the events of last week at the UN are over, the battle that we face here daily is not at all over. Earlier in the week the US State Department also issued a criticism of this decision on our part, once again showing their lack of understanding of the basic geography here.
Our friends around the world need to raise their voices about this type of irresponsible political theatre so that the big lie does not continue unchallenged. Every time one of these lies is repeated it adds yet another nail in the coffin of the enterprise called Israel. Informed individuals need to object at every turn to this type of chicanery.
As we enter the new year, I extend my best wishes to my Jewish readers for a happy, healthy, prosperous and, dare I say as well, peaceful new year. Shana Tovah Umetukah! A Good and Sweet Year!
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
-3 Days Since Friday – And Now the Turks are Churning
By Sherwin Pomerantz
Now that Netanyahu and Abbas are back in their respective home cities, it’s worth taking a look at one of our less pleasant neighbors at the moment, Turkey.
In today’s Zaman, the main Turkish daily published in Istanbul, the paper listed 174 names, apparently acquired through Facebook, of the 10 Israel Defense Forces soldiers who boarded the Mavi Marmara in May 2010 as it was trying to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. The names were gathered by IHH, the organization that organized the flotilla.
Ramazan Ariturk, a lawyer for IHH, the Humanitarian Relief Foundation based in Turkey was quoted as saying “We have presented a list of Israeli soldiers who gave the order for and who were involved in the attack on the Turkish flotilla to the Istanbul prosecutor’s office. Currently we are waiting for the prosecutor’s office to issue an order for (their) arrest.
The move came as the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office appealed to the Turkish Intelligence Organization (MİT) in order to obtain information on the identities of the IDF soldiers involved in the raid which left nine Turks dead last year. According to Zaman, an affirmative answer from MİT would allow the prosecutor to open court cases against Israeli officials including the President, Prime Minister and former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Asheknazi as well as the soldiers involved in the raid.
The charges would include “willful murder and torture” and “limiting freedom” of the passengers, the paper reported.
This is, of course, the same country that has, as part of its history, a significant record of atrocities which neither admits to nor been tried for.
These include:
• The Batak Massacre of 1876 when the Turks slaughtered thousands of Bulgarians simply because of their ethnic background.
• Dersim, where between 7,000-90,000 were killed, although no one can be sure as many of the bodies were destroyed beyond recognition.
• The Armenian genocide where 1,500,000 million were killed in 1915
• The Christian Genocide of 1912-1924
• Turkish atrocities in Cyprus in 1974
• The killing of 40,000 Kurds from 1984-2002 by the Turks.
• War crimes against Greeks during the War of Independence which involved the systematic torture, massacre and ethnic cleansing of several million Hellenes (Greeks) perpetrated by the Turks in Asia Minor, Constantinople (now called Istanbul by the Turks), Eastern Thrace, Imvros, Tenedos, Macedonia, Cappadocia and Pontos. Most of the victims were massacred between 1895 and 1955. The present estimate is that some 2,000,000 Greek children, men and women of all ages were killed during that period.
So this “moral” society which is now offended at the death of 9 of their citizens who were trying to break a legal blockade of Gaza by Israel (the recently issued Palmer Report of the UN stands by Israel’s claim that the blockade is lawful) bears no responsibility at all for the massacre of millions of people in the country’s earlier attempts at ethnic cleansing.
Article 301 of the Turkish penal code even makes it a crime to refer to the Armenian Genocide as genocide. So much for morals.
It is a given that when bad people murder a whole population, good people must respond. When time passes and we look back on people who murdered a whole population, we must never allow that transcendent evil to be denied or downplayed because of diplomatic or political considerations. It is simply wrong and immoral to do so. But it is even more offensive when the society involved in such activities then points the finger at others for grievances much less serious and which occurred because of baiting by people who claim to be on a humanitarian mission but whose goals are transparently belligerent.
The famed lawyer Louis Nizer once said “When man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that four of his fingers are pointing at himself.” The Turks need to internalize that concept.
By Sherwin Pomerantz
Now that Netanyahu and Abbas are back in their respective home cities, it’s worth taking a look at one of our less pleasant neighbors at the moment, Turkey.
In today’s Zaman, the main Turkish daily published in Istanbul, the paper listed 174 names, apparently acquired through Facebook, of the 10 Israel Defense Forces soldiers who boarded the Mavi Marmara in May 2010 as it was trying to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza. The names were gathered by IHH, the organization that organized the flotilla.
Ramazan Ariturk, a lawyer for IHH, the Humanitarian Relief Foundation based in Turkey was quoted as saying “We have presented a list of Israeli soldiers who gave the order for and who were involved in the attack on the Turkish flotilla to the Istanbul prosecutor’s office. Currently we are waiting for the prosecutor’s office to issue an order for (their) arrest.
The move came as the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office appealed to the Turkish Intelligence Organization (MİT) in order to obtain information on the identities of the IDF soldiers involved in the raid which left nine Turks dead last year. According to Zaman, an affirmative answer from MİT would allow the prosecutor to open court cases against Israeli officials including the President, Prime Minister and former IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Asheknazi as well as the soldiers involved in the raid.
The charges would include “willful murder and torture” and “limiting freedom” of the passengers, the paper reported.
This is, of course, the same country that has, as part of its history, a significant record of atrocities which neither admits to nor been tried for.
These include:
• The Batak Massacre of 1876 when the Turks slaughtered thousands of Bulgarians simply because of their ethnic background.
• Dersim, where between 7,000-90,000 were killed, although no one can be sure as many of the bodies were destroyed beyond recognition.
• The Armenian genocide where 1,500,000 million were killed in 1915
• The Christian Genocide of 1912-1924
• Turkish atrocities in Cyprus in 1974
• The killing of 40,000 Kurds from 1984-2002 by the Turks.
• War crimes against Greeks during the War of Independence which involved the systematic torture, massacre and ethnic cleansing of several million Hellenes (Greeks) perpetrated by the Turks in Asia Minor, Constantinople (now called Istanbul by the Turks), Eastern Thrace, Imvros, Tenedos, Macedonia, Cappadocia and Pontos. Most of the victims were massacred between 1895 and 1955. The present estimate is that some 2,000,000 Greek children, men and women of all ages were killed during that period.
So this “moral” society which is now offended at the death of 9 of their citizens who were trying to break a legal blockade of Gaza by Israel (the recently issued Palmer Report of the UN stands by Israel’s claim that the blockade is lawful) bears no responsibility at all for the massacre of millions of people in the country’s earlier attempts at ethnic cleansing.
Article 301 of the Turkish penal code even makes it a crime to refer to the Armenian Genocide as genocide. So much for morals.
It is a given that when bad people murder a whole population, good people must respond. When time passes and we look back on people who murdered a whole population, we must never allow that transcendent evil to be denied or downplayed because of diplomatic or political considerations. It is simply wrong and immoral to do so. But it is even more offensive when the society involved in such activities then points the finger at others for grievances much less serious and which occurred because of baiting by people who claim to be on a humanitarian mission but whose goals are transparently belligerent.
The famed lawyer Louis Nizer once said “When man points a finger at someone else, he should remember that four of his fingers are pointing at himself.” The Turks need to internalize that concept.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Postscript to the UN
By Sherwin Pomerantz
Well, for those of you who thought you would not hear from me again, I am not finished yet. Friday, September 23rd has come and gone, Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas spoke to the UN General Assembly as did Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and now the “fun” begins.
The Prime Minister gave the speech many of us expected he would give. He told “our” truth to an audience that could, at best, be described as somewhat respectful, at least those people who remained in the room. Of course, the Iranians were absent as were the Syrians and the Palestinians left one sole representative at their station who seemed very busy taking notes. As for the speech itself, some people feel that Netanyahu could have strengthened his remarks regarding the government being in favor of two states for two peoples living side by side in peace and security but, other than that, it was what we needed to tell the world. Our claim to this land is 4,000 years old and anyone denying that claim in any way, shape or form is simply lying for the sake of politics.
As for the Israeli delegation, from my viewpoint seeing a replay of the speech on Saturday night here in Israel, I found the delegation an embarrassment. Foreign Minister Lieberman sat slouching in his chair and the one time during the speech that he felt he had to applaud he put his hands together limply and clapped them once. As far as I am concerned, and many people here agree with me, the best thing the Prime Minister can do for Israel is to sack his Foreign Minister as he is persona non grata in many world capitals and a major embarrassment to the country as well.
Sadly, Lieberman’s right hand man, Deputy Minister Ayalon, who sat next to him with the same sad look on his face, knows the diplomatic business well, having done an excellent job as a former Ambassador to the United States. How he ever got into bed with Lieberman is a mystery to most of us and the hope is that if he were not involved in that manner, he would raise himself up to his former level of competence.
As for Chairman Abbas, while he appeared the picture of diplomacy his remarks contained all of the old lies that have been bandied about for years and he was much more volatile and accusatory than anyone here expected. One of his most disappointing statements was his reference to the Muslim and Christian historical claims to this land, conveniently omitting any acknowledgement of Jewish history here. Akiva Eldar of Ha’aretz in this morning’s editorial praised the speech and said that the only mistake Abbas made was his “inadvertent” omission of the Jewish claim to this land. Can the left be so blind as to think that the omission was inadvertent? Is there no end to their inability to accept the truth, even when the enemy states it so blatantly?
The Chairman reiterated as well his statement that the new State of Palestine, when it is created, will be Judenrein, which does not seem to bother anyone at all in the world community. Quite an amazing fact just 66 years after the end of World War II.
Of course the most amazing thing about the spectacle at the UN and the discussions leading up to it is that those in Israel who questioned every move we made towards accommodation with the Palestinians turned out to be more right than wrong. The criticism over the years whenever the two parties sat down to negotiate was that at whatever point the negotiations stopped, that would be the starting point for the next round of talks. So, to get the Palestinians to the negotiating table Israel would always make some concessions, which the Palestinians would accept and then, after Oslo, or Camp David, or Wye, when they left the negotiations and reverted to their old ways of terrorism and intimidation, in order to get them back to the table Israeli would make more concessions over and above the earlier ones. The critics here of earlier dialogue always warned those of us who believed (and still believe) in the possibility of peace, that this was the Middle Eastern way but our leaders went down that path in any event. Today we are expected to pay the price by making yet more concessions in order to get the parties back to the negotiating table. But that approach has proven worthless in the past and no longer makes sense. Netanyahu’s suggestion that the two parties meet without preconditions is the only sensible platform on which to begin discussions.
Still, Abbas says that if the UN approves statehood then he is ready to sit down and talk with Israel. Netanyahu was right on Friday night, they were both in the same city and in the same building, why couldn’t the negotiations have started there?
Hopefully there will not be a majority in favor of statehood when the item comes up for a vote in the Security Council so that the US will not have to use its promised veto and risk further isolation of itself and Israel. But the present leadership of the Palestinian Authority did not assuage the concerns of those of us in Israel who fear that their real goal is our eviction from this land. And as far as the UN is concerned, we were not comforted either by the fact that so many delegates remained in the room during the Iranian president’s rantings against Israel and the west as well.
The story has many chapters to go and I will continue providing updates and information so that as many people as possible will know that what is written in the New York Times is not the ultimate truth.
By Sherwin Pomerantz
Well, for those of you who thought you would not hear from me again, I am not finished yet. Friday, September 23rd has come and gone, Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas spoke to the UN General Assembly as did Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and now the “fun” begins.
The Prime Minister gave the speech many of us expected he would give. He told “our” truth to an audience that could, at best, be described as somewhat respectful, at least those people who remained in the room. Of course, the Iranians were absent as were the Syrians and the Palestinians left one sole representative at their station who seemed very busy taking notes. As for the speech itself, some people feel that Netanyahu could have strengthened his remarks regarding the government being in favor of two states for two peoples living side by side in peace and security but, other than that, it was what we needed to tell the world. Our claim to this land is 4,000 years old and anyone denying that claim in any way, shape or form is simply lying for the sake of politics.
As for the Israeli delegation, from my viewpoint seeing a replay of the speech on Saturday night here in Israel, I found the delegation an embarrassment. Foreign Minister Lieberman sat slouching in his chair and the one time during the speech that he felt he had to applaud he put his hands together limply and clapped them once. As far as I am concerned, and many people here agree with me, the best thing the Prime Minister can do for Israel is to sack his Foreign Minister as he is persona non grata in many world capitals and a major embarrassment to the country as well.
Sadly, Lieberman’s right hand man, Deputy Minister Ayalon, who sat next to him with the same sad look on his face, knows the diplomatic business well, having done an excellent job as a former Ambassador to the United States. How he ever got into bed with Lieberman is a mystery to most of us and the hope is that if he were not involved in that manner, he would raise himself up to his former level of competence.
As for Chairman Abbas, while he appeared the picture of diplomacy his remarks contained all of the old lies that have been bandied about for years and he was much more volatile and accusatory than anyone here expected. One of his most disappointing statements was his reference to the Muslim and Christian historical claims to this land, conveniently omitting any acknowledgement of Jewish history here. Akiva Eldar of Ha’aretz in this morning’s editorial praised the speech and said that the only mistake Abbas made was his “inadvertent” omission of the Jewish claim to this land. Can the left be so blind as to think that the omission was inadvertent? Is there no end to their inability to accept the truth, even when the enemy states it so blatantly?
The Chairman reiterated as well his statement that the new State of Palestine, when it is created, will be Judenrein, which does not seem to bother anyone at all in the world community. Quite an amazing fact just 66 years after the end of World War II.
Of course the most amazing thing about the spectacle at the UN and the discussions leading up to it is that those in Israel who questioned every move we made towards accommodation with the Palestinians turned out to be more right than wrong. The criticism over the years whenever the two parties sat down to negotiate was that at whatever point the negotiations stopped, that would be the starting point for the next round of talks. So, to get the Palestinians to the negotiating table Israel would always make some concessions, which the Palestinians would accept and then, after Oslo, or Camp David, or Wye, when they left the negotiations and reverted to their old ways of terrorism and intimidation, in order to get them back to the table Israeli would make more concessions over and above the earlier ones. The critics here of earlier dialogue always warned those of us who believed (and still believe) in the possibility of peace, that this was the Middle Eastern way but our leaders went down that path in any event. Today we are expected to pay the price by making yet more concessions in order to get the parties back to the negotiating table. But that approach has proven worthless in the past and no longer makes sense. Netanyahu’s suggestion that the two parties meet without preconditions is the only sensible platform on which to begin discussions.
Still, Abbas says that if the UN approves statehood then he is ready to sit down and talk with Israel. Netanyahu was right on Friday night, they were both in the same city and in the same building, why couldn’t the negotiations have started there?
Hopefully there will not be a majority in favor of statehood when the item comes up for a vote in the Security Council so that the US will not have to use its promised veto and risk further isolation of itself and Israel. But the present leadership of the Palestinian Authority did not assuage the concerns of those of us in Israel who fear that their real goal is our eviction from this land. And as far as the UN is concerned, we were not comforted either by the fact that so many delegates remained in the room during the Iranian president’s rantings against Israel and the west as well.
The story has many chapters to go and I will continue providing updates and information so that as many people as possible will know that what is written in the New York Times is not the ultimate truth.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
1 Day to Go – Friday is Speech Day
By Sherwin Pomerantz
Tomorrow, Friday, September 23rd, Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas will speak to the UN General Assembly and lay out his position vis-à-vis UN recognition of statehood for the Palestinian Arab population of Judea and Samaria (and maybe even Gaza). Even now it is not clear what position he will take as he and his associates are clearly under a great deal of pressure to climb down from the high perch they have selected for themselves without losing face, a most important consideration in this part of the world and particularly in Muslim society.
Yesterday, the disappointment on the faces of the Palestinian delegation to the UN during President Obama’s speech was visible to all. Chairman Abbas sat there with his hands clasped to his earphones while next to him sat one of his associates shaking his head in disbelief. And why? Obama made it perfectly clear that while the US remains in favor of two states for two people in this part of the world that the path to achieving that is by negotiation between the two parties and not by UN resolutions. But he reiterated the basic principles that he laid out in his speech in May and which, independent of whether this is what Israel feel is in its best long term interests or not, they are indeed the parameters that have been discussed now for some years.
Obama went further and, to our joy here, underscored the need for any solution to provide Israel the security we must have in order to go to the next step with the Palestinian Arab leadership. From our perspective here the speech was balanced, recognized Israel’s need under any peace agreement to ensure its long term viability, and threw the responsibility for hammering out a solution, if there can be one, to the parties involved.
Of course those on the left in Israel were very quick to condemn the speech as being too soft on Israel. This morning’s Ha’aretz newspaper was full of criticism of the President for bowing to both Israeli pressure and election year political considerations in the US. Some excerpts:
Akiva Eldar penned a piece called “Introducing President Barack Netanyahu” and said that the President’s speech will not advance the peace process one iota. He went on to predict that Obama’s passivity could lead to civil unrest against both Israel and “its American patron” as well as lead to a loss of a Palestinian partner to the two state solution.
Yossi Sarid said that the speech was not good or bad it was simply “another empty speech. Above all, it was a sad, depressing occasion” He went on to say that Obama is not Obama, but simply the man who used to be Obama. He then castigated the President for not showing leadership and standing up for the Palestinian statehood attempt.
Other commentary from the left made additional statements regarding how Obama dropped the ball on this. On the other hand, those of us who have been arguing for months that moving this initiative forward in the UN is a bad move were pleased both by the speech and the efforts that the US is making to ensure that there is no majority for the initiative in the Security Council.
But the pressure must be kept up as the battle is not yet over. The fact, for example, that Rabbi Avi Weiss of Riverdale, NY, who attempted to mount a demonstration yesterday in front of the UN but could only muster 35 people in a city where 1.97 million Jews live speaks to the apathy of the American Jewish Community on the issue. Rabbi Weiss is due much gratitude from all of us for “doing something” and, of course, because he was blocking traffic on First Avenue he got arrested as well. Hopefully he has posted bond and is now out of jail. As for the local community, they should be ashamed of themselves.
Tomorrow, after Chairman Abbas speaks Prime Minister Netanyahu will take the rostrum. Hopefully he will speak the truth similar to what I outlined in my blog a few days ago and point out to those in the chamber that the opportunity to sit and negotiate with Israel has been open to the Palestinian Arab leadership for over a year and it is they who refused to come to the table. While our government is not totally blameless either given some of the characters in our leadership, the unwillingness of the Palestinian Arab leadership to come to the table during the 10 month suspension of building in the settlements was a strategic error and one that defied all logic.
One of the founding fathers of the US and its first president, George Washington is reputed to have said: “The marvel of history is the patience with which men and women submit to the burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments.” His observation has been proven correct over the last 250 year, both for good and for bad. But what both sides to this conflict need now are leaders who can extract themselves from the binding aspect of history and chart a new and dynamic course. Hopefully they are up to the task but tomorrow will tell.
By Sherwin Pomerantz
Tomorrow, Friday, September 23rd, Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas will speak to the UN General Assembly and lay out his position vis-à-vis UN recognition of statehood for the Palestinian Arab population of Judea and Samaria (and maybe even Gaza). Even now it is not clear what position he will take as he and his associates are clearly under a great deal of pressure to climb down from the high perch they have selected for themselves without losing face, a most important consideration in this part of the world and particularly in Muslim society.
Yesterday, the disappointment on the faces of the Palestinian delegation to the UN during President Obama’s speech was visible to all. Chairman Abbas sat there with his hands clasped to his earphones while next to him sat one of his associates shaking his head in disbelief. And why? Obama made it perfectly clear that while the US remains in favor of two states for two people in this part of the world that the path to achieving that is by negotiation between the two parties and not by UN resolutions. But he reiterated the basic principles that he laid out in his speech in May and which, independent of whether this is what Israel feel is in its best long term interests or not, they are indeed the parameters that have been discussed now for some years.
Obama went further and, to our joy here, underscored the need for any solution to provide Israel the security we must have in order to go to the next step with the Palestinian Arab leadership. From our perspective here the speech was balanced, recognized Israel’s need under any peace agreement to ensure its long term viability, and threw the responsibility for hammering out a solution, if there can be one, to the parties involved.
Of course those on the left in Israel were very quick to condemn the speech as being too soft on Israel. This morning’s Ha’aretz newspaper was full of criticism of the President for bowing to both Israeli pressure and election year political considerations in the US. Some excerpts:
Akiva Eldar penned a piece called “Introducing President Barack Netanyahu” and said that the President’s speech will not advance the peace process one iota. He went on to predict that Obama’s passivity could lead to civil unrest against both Israel and “its American patron” as well as lead to a loss of a Palestinian partner to the two state solution.
Yossi Sarid said that the speech was not good or bad it was simply “another empty speech. Above all, it was a sad, depressing occasion” He went on to say that Obama is not Obama, but simply the man who used to be Obama. He then castigated the President for not showing leadership and standing up for the Palestinian statehood attempt.
Other commentary from the left made additional statements regarding how Obama dropped the ball on this. On the other hand, those of us who have been arguing for months that moving this initiative forward in the UN is a bad move were pleased both by the speech and the efforts that the US is making to ensure that there is no majority for the initiative in the Security Council.
But the pressure must be kept up as the battle is not yet over. The fact, for example, that Rabbi Avi Weiss of Riverdale, NY, who attempted to mount a demonstration yesterday in front of the UN but could only muster 35 people in a city where 1.97 million Jews live speaks to the apathy of the American Jewish Community on the issue. Rabbi Weiss is due much gratitude from all of us for “doing something” and, of course, because he was blocking traffic on First Avenue he got arrested as well. Hopefully he has posted bond and is now out of jail. As for the local community, they should be ashamed of themselves.
Tomorrow, after Chairman Abbas speaks Prime Minister Netanyahu will take the rostrum. Hopefully he will speak the truth similar to what I outlined in my blog a few days ago and point out to those in the chamber that the opportunity to sit and negotiate with Israel has been open to the Palestinian Arab leadership for over a year and it is they who refused to come to the table. While our government is not totally blameless either given some of the characters in our leadership, the unwillingness of the Palestinian Arab leadership to come to the table during the 10 month suspension of building in the settlements was a strategic error and one that defied all logic.
One of the founding fathers of the US and its first president, George Washington is reputed to have said: “The marvel of history is the patience with which men and women submit to the burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments.” His observation has been proven correct over the last 250 year, both for good and for bad. But what both sides to this conflict need now are leaders who can extract themselves from the binding aspect of history and chart a new and dynamic course. Hopefully they are up to the task but tomorrow will tell.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
2 Days to Go – September 23rd is Speech Day
By Sherwin Pomerantz
“The Occupation is Over” was the headline in Washington DC on September 23 1922 as Charles Evans Hughes signed the Hughes-Peynado Agreement that ended the occupation of the Dominican Republic by the United States. No doubt the Palestinian Arab leadership has hope that this Friday, when Chairman Abbas rises to speak to the General Assembly that a similar headline is in the offing for the territories on which his compatriots reside.
But when Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu gets up to speak sometime later in the day, no doubt he will be aware of the fact that on the same September 23rd, but 19 years later, in 1941, the very first gas chamber experiments were conducted at Auschwitz putting into place the planned elimination of the Jews of Europe. While thankfully not 100% successful, six million of our brethren lost their lives in the resulting insanity.
History is capable of teaching us great lessons if only we are prepared to listen. I am always reminded of one of my high school history teachers, Louis Ellenoff (who is most likely no longer around) and the frustration he felt when he sensed that the class was not listening. Not more than 5 feet, 5 inches tall, he would often turn to the blackboard with this back to the class, throw up his hands and exclaim “And the law says: Teach them!” The question remains: Is the world listening now?
The failure of humanity to internalize the lessons of history dooms us to repeat the mistakes of the past. George Santayana first understood this when he coined the phrase “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” We know that ruling over another people is not sustainable, but we also know that attempts to eradicate a people are immoral. Yet the attempts to do so continue.
Those of us who have been arguing against the Palestinian Arab leadership’s move to gain UN recognition for statehood rather than engaging in face-to-face negotiations with Israel to achieve the same purpose, are doing so in the face of the experience of 4,000 years of Jewish history, much of which has been detrimental to our continued existence on this earth.
And our fears are amplified further when we see in the press that over the past weekend Mojtaba Amani, Iran’s Ambassador to Egypt justified the bid for UN recognition of Palestinian statehood in the most heinous way. In an interview with Al-Watan al-Arabi, the weekly Lebanese news magazine, Amani said that the Palestinian Authority’s push for full membership as a UN member state “is a step towards wiping out Israel” and that “the Palestinians must follow a correct example and complete all the measures to prevent the Zionist entity from depriving them their rights.” No doubt when Iranian president Ahmadinejad speaks at the General Assembly this week he will echo these thoughts as he did last year when he called for the elimination of Israel from the Middle East.
So no one should be surprised to hear words of caution and concern coming from Israel’s leadership when one member of the United Nations openly calls for the elimination of another member and the forum of the world body itself is used as the platform to make such a call. No one should be surprised to hear words of caution and concern coming from our leadership when Hamas in Gaza, with whom Abbas and his associates recently signed an agreement to join forces, openly says they will never recognize Israel nor will they ever agree to any understanding between Fatah and Israel. And no one should be surprised to hear words of caution from us when Abbas himself says to the world that no Jews will be allowed to reside in the new state of Palestine, when it is created.
One occupation was ended on September 23rd and the systematic destruction of the Jewish people began on the same day, albeit 19 years apart. None of us want to be witness to the end of another occupation that carries with it the potential of yet another attempt to eliminate the Jewish people from this land which we have built so successfully over the past 63 years. The conscience of the world will be on trial beginning this week. Let’s hope that it is up to the challenge.
By Sherwin Pomerantz
“The Occupation is Over” was the headline in Washington DC on September 23 1922 as Charles Evans Hughes signed the Hughes-Peynado Agreement that ended the occupation of the Dominican Republic by the United States. No doubt the Palestinian Arab leadership has hope that this Friday, when Chairman Abbas rises to speak to the General Assembly that a similar headline is in the offing for the territories on which his compatriots reside.
But when Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu gets up to speak sometime later in the day, no doubt he will be aware of the fact that on the same September 23rd, but 19 years later, in 1941, the very first gas chamber experiments were conducted at Auschwitz putting into place the planned elimination of the Jews of Europe. While thankfully not 100% successful, six million of our brethren lost their lives in the resulting insanity.
History is capable of teaching us great lessons if only we are prepared to listen. I am always reminded of one of my high school history teachers, Louis Ellenoff (who is most likely no longer around) and the frustration he felt when he sensed that the class was not listening. Not more than 5 feet, 5 inches tall, he would often turn to the blackboard with this back to the class, throw up his hands and exclaim “And the law says: Teach them!” The question remains: Is the world listening now?
The failure of humanity to internalize the lessons of history dooms us to repeat the mistakes of the past. George Santayana first understood this when he coined the phrase “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” We know that ruling over another people is not sustainable, but we also know that attempts to eradicate a people are immoral. Yet the attempts to do so continue.
Those of us who have been arguing against the Palestinian Arab leadership’s move to gain UN recognition for statehood rather than engaging in face-to-face negotiations with Israel to achieve the same purpose, are doing so in the face of the experience of 4,000 years of Jewish history, much of which has been detrimental to our continued existence on this earth.
And our fears are amplified further when we see in the press that over the past weekend Mojtaba Amani, Iran’s Ambassador to Egypt justified the bid for UN recognition of Palestinian statehood in the most heinous way. In an interview with Al-Watan al-Arabi, the weekly Lebanese news magazine, Amani said that the Palestinian Authority’s push for full membership as a UN member state “is a step towards wiping out Israel” and that “the Palestinians must follow a correct example and complete all the measures to prevent the Zionist entity from depriving them their rights.” No doubt when Iranian president Ahmadinejad speaks at the General Assembly this week he will echo these thoughts as he did last year when he called for the elimination of Israel from the Middle East.
So no one should be surprised to hear words of caution and concern coming from Israel’s leadership when one member of the United Nations openly calls for the elimination of another member and the forum of the world body itself is used as the platform to make such a call. No one should be surprised to hear words of caution and concern coming from our leadership when Hamas in Gaza, with whom Abbas and his associates recently signed an agreement to join forces, openly says they will never recognize Israel nor will they ever agree to any understanding between Fatah and Israel. And no one should be surprised to hear words of caution from us when Abbas himself says to the world that no Jews will be allowed to reside in the new state of Palestine, when it is created.
One occupation was ended on September 23rd and the systematic destruction of the Jewish people began on the same day, albeit 19 years apart. None of us want to be witness to the end of another occupation that carries with it the potential of yet another attempt to eliminate the Jewish people from this land which we have built so successfully over the past 63 years. The conscience of the world will be on trial beginning this week. Let’s hope that it is up to the challenge.
Monday, September 19, 2011
5 Days to Go – Netanyahu's Speech at the UN
By Sherwin Pomerantz
Five days from now Chairman Abbas will submit the request of the Palestinian Arab leadership to the UN to approve their desire for statehood. He will address the General Assembly on Thursday evening of this week and, following his address, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will speak to the assemblage as well.
Here is what I think our Prime Minister should say:
Members of the world body I stand here this evening as the democratically elected head of the State of Israel, the legitimate homeland of the Jewish people as reaffirmed in San Remo, Italy on April 25, 1920 at a meeting of the allied nations victorious in World War I and based on our 4,000 year connection to this land. At that time those assembled carved up the conquered Ottoman Empire into Iraq, Syria and Palestine and codified the desire of the victors to create a national home for the Jewish people.
The language used did not specify that all of Palestine was to be included in this formulation and the United Nations on November 29, 1947 voted to partition Palestine into two states, one Jewish and the other Arab. We accepted that decision and six months later, when the British departed, we declared our independence and our desire to live in peace with our neighbors. The then Arab leadership, the forefathers of the people who now are asking this body to approve its petition for statehood, refused to accept the verdict of the General Assembly and went to war against the fledgling state of Israel.
We were victorious in that war and in the many wars that followed including the Six Day War of 1967 when we captured Gaza, the West Bank, which we call Judea and Samaria, as well as the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Each time we offered to sit down with the Palestinian Arab leadership and discuss an end to the conflict and a final determination of borders so that two states for two peoples could be a reality. Each time we were rebuffed. As a result we became responsible for the welfare of the indigent population, a responsibility we never desired and found seemingly impossible to end.
In 1993 we were finally able to get the Palestinian Arab leadership to sit down with us in Oslo and craft what everyone hoped would be the start of a lasting peace in our land and an eventual end to what is generally known as “the occupation.” But the results were disappointing. The violence against our people continued and the hoped for end of conflict did not materialize. Nevertheless, in July of 2000 my predecessor, Ehud Barak, came to Camp David and offered the Palestinian Arab leadership an independent state on terms that we considered fair and just. But that offer was rejected out of hand and no alternative offer was ever forthcoming from the other side, and the violence continued.
In August 2005, in the belief that in the long term Gaza would have to become part and parcel of the State of Palestine, and as a gesture of good will, we unilaterally withdrew all of the Israelis living in Gaza amid painful discourse within Israel. Our hope was that the local leadership in Gaza, without the interference of Israeli residents and military, would take that land and turn it into the Singapore of the Middle East. Instead, it became the launching pad for continuous rocket attacks against out people and later a territory fully controlled by Hamas, a terrorist organization bent on our expulsion from the region.
Now the current Palestinian Arab leadership comes to this General Assembly and asks you to approve their application for statehood so that they can then sit down with us and negotiate peace? But why do they need this? This body voted for Palestinian statehood in 1947 and, for the last 64 years that option has not been exercised. At the insistence of the US government in 2010 we agreed to a 10 month stoppage of settlement construction in an effort to draw the Palestinian Arab leadership back to the negotiating table, but they refused. Yet, when the hiatus on construction was about to expire, they then came back and said if we would extend that suspension yet again, they would consider sitting down at the negotiating table.
In speeches at Bar Ilan University in Israel last year and again in the US Congress this year I made it clear that I fully support the two state solution, and that I was and am prepared to go to Ramallah to meet Chairman Abbas, or to welcome him to Jerusalem or to meet in a neutral location such as Brussels. Instead of an agreement to meet, the position of the Palestinian Arab leadership seemed to harden even further seeing the UN as the next forum for their desire for statehood and now saying that if statehood is approved they are then prepared to sit with us and discuss peace! Based on past history why should we believe them and, more importantly, why should you?
The issues that have been raised by the Palestinian Arab leadership as obstacles to peace need to be resolved in negotiation before this body welcomes the new State of Palestine into membership. For us to support UN membership for a new country that stands fast on its demand for the right of return of all of its past refugees and their descendants until today, that demands the re-partition of Jerusalem so that it can be the capital of the new country, and insists, 66 years after a Holocaust that killed a third of our people, that their new country be Judenrein, would be nothing less than signing our own death warrant and I was not elected Prime Minister to preside over the demise of the enterprise called Israel. And I don’t believe that your intent is to do so either.
So what options are left to me as the head of the government of a sovereign member of the United Nations in good standing, faced with the situation I have just described and having heard this week, as well, from the head of another member nation, Iran, speaking to this forum and urging the dissolution of my country? What would you expect me to do that will ensure the continued viability of the strongest democracy in our part of the world that, through our technological development, has contributed so much to the quality of life of people everywhere? Well, you will be surprised at what I am going to say next.
I am not in favor of simply approving the request of the Palestinian Arab leadership to become a member of the United Nations. But I do believe that the status quo is not sustainable either. As such, I suggest that this body agree to a one year conditional approval of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations with the caveat that if there has been no agreement finalized between us by that time that approval will be revoked. Conditional membership means that while Palestine can sit as a member of the General Assembly, it cannot access other arms of the United Nations, such as the International Court of Justice, during this interim period.
You may then ask: What incentive do we in Israel have to finalize such an agreement? The answer is very simple. Our people are as tired of war and conflict as are the Palestinians. The overwhelming majority of our population would like to see an end to the conflict so that they can live normal lives and stop sending their husbands, sons, and fathers to fight. We believe that with peace we can continue to assist the Palestinian economy to grow and prosper as evidenced by the existing investments in growth funds there by Israeli venture capitalists such as Chemi Peres. We have said for many years that it is in our mutual interest to find a way to co-exist in peace and security.
One year ago US President Obama stood here and expressed his hope that this year would see the entry of the new State of Palestine into the United Nations. But while his efforts and those of the Quartet, among others, were both sincere and appreciated, peace cannot come to our joint land by the efforts of outsiders, no matter how well intentioned. Peace between us is in our hands and, from this podium, I extend the hand of peace to Mahmoud Abbas and say let us sit down together and, between us, hammer out the framework of an agreement the will bring this conflict to a satisfactory end. Neither of us will achieve all we desire but if, at the end of this journey, the future of our children and our children’s children will be secure we will have achieved infinitely more than our predecessors, and engender the eternal gratitude of both of our peoples.
Next week, Jews around the world will usher in the new year of 5772. Unlike most cultures, we do so with prayer, family gatherings and awareness of the biblical injunction to hear the sound of the shofar, the ram’s horn, which reminds us all of God’s power in this universe. And then we greet each other with the words l’shanah tovah tikatev v’taihatem which means may you be inscribed and sealed for a good year. That is our wish today. That the new year about to begin will be one where all of us will be inscribed in the book of life and sealed for a good year of peace and tranquility once and for all for all mankind. We can hope for no less. Thank you!
By Sherwin Pomerantz
Five days from now Chairman Abbas will submit the request of the Palestinian Arab leadership to the UN to approve their desire for statehood. He will address the General Assembly on Thursday evening of this week and, following his address, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will speak to the assemblage as well.
Here is what I think our Prime Minister should say:
Members of the world body I stand here this evening as the democratically elected head of the State of Israel, the legitimate homeland of the Jewish people as reaffirmed in San Remo, Italy on April 25, 1920 at a meeting of the allied nations victorious in World War I and based on our 4,000 year connection to this land. At that time those assembled carved up the conquered Ottoman Empire into Iraq, Syria and Palestine and codified the desire of the victors to create a national home for the Jewish people.
The language used did not specify that all of Palestine was to be included in this formulation and the United Nations on November 29, 1947 voted to partition Palestine into two states, one Jewish and the other Arab. We accepted that decision and six months later, when the British departed, we declared our independence and our desire to live in peace with our neighbors. The then Arab leadership, the forefathers of the people who now are asking this body to approve its petition for statehood, refused to accept the verdict of the General Assembly and went to war against the fledgling state of Israel.
We were victorious in that war and in the many wars that followed including the Six Day War of 1967 when we captured Gaza, the West Bank, which we call Judea and Samaria, as well as the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Each time we offered to sit down with the Palestinian Arab leadership and discuss an end to the conflict and a final determination of borders so that two states for two peoples could be a reality. Each time we were rebuffed. As a result we became responsible for the welfare of the indigent population, a responsibility we never desired and found seemingly impossible to end.
In 1993 we were finally able to get the Palestinian Arab leadership to sit down with us in Oslo and craft what everyone hoped would be the start of a lasting peace in our land and an eventual end to what is generally known as “the occupation.” But the results were disappointing. The violence against our people continued and the hoped for end of conflict did not materialize. Nevertheless, in July of 2000 my predecessor, Ehud Barak, came to Camp David and offered the Palestinian Arab leadership an independent state on terms that we considered fair and just. But that offer was rejected out of hand and no alternative offer was ever forthcoming from the other side, and the violence continued.
In August 2005, in the belief that in the long term Gaza would have to become part and parcel of the State of Palestine, and as a gesture of good will, we unilaterally withdrew all of the Israelis living in Gaza amid painful discourse within Israel. Our hope was that the local leadership in Gaza, without the interference of Israeli residents and military, would take that land and turn it into the Singapore of the Middle East. Instead, it became the launching pad for continuous rocket attacks against out people and later a territory fully controlled by Hamas, a terrorist organization bent on our expulsion from the region.
Now the current Palestinian Arab leadership comes to this General Assembly and asks you to approve their application for statehood so that they can then sit down with us and negotiate peace? But why do they need this? This body voted for Palestinian statehood in 1947 and, for the last 64 years that option has not been exercised. At the insistence of the US government in 2010 we agreed to a 10 month stoppage of settlement construction in an effort to draw the Palestinian Arab leadership back to the negotiating table, but they refused. Yet, when the hiatus on construction was about to expire, they then came back and said if we would extend that suspension yet again, they would consider sitting down at the negotiating table.
In speeches at Bar Ilan University in Israel last year and again in the US Congress this year I made it clear that I fully support the two state solution, and that I was and am prepared to go to Ramallah to meet Chairman Abbas, or to welcome him to Jerusalem or to meet in a neutral location such as Brussels. Instead of an agreement to meet, the position of the Palestinian Arab leadership seemed to harden even further seeing the UN as the next forum for their desire for statehood and now saying that if statehood is approved they are then prepared to sit with us and discuss peace! Based on past history why should we believe them and, more importantly, why should you?
The issues that have been raised by the Palestinian Arab leadership as obstacles to peace need to be resolved in negotiation before this body welcomes the new State of Palestine into membership. For us to support UN membership for a new country that stands fast on its demand for the right of return of all of its past refugees and their descendants until today, that demands the re-partition of Jerusalem so that it can be the capital of the new country, and insists, 66 years after a Holocaust that killed a third of our people, that their new country be Judenrein, would be nothing less than signing our own death warrant and I was not elected Prime Minister to preside over the demise of the enterprise called Israel. And I don’t believe that your intent is to do so either.
So what options are left to me as the head of the government of a sovereign member of the United Nations in good standing, faced with the situation I have just described and having heard this week, as well, from the head of another member nation, Iran, speaking to this forum and urging the dissolution of my country? What would you expect me to do that will ensure the continued viability of the strongest democracy in our part of the world that, through our technological development, has contributed so much to the quality of life of people everywhere? Well, you will be surprised at what I am going to say next.
I am not in favor of simply approving the request of the Palestinian Arab leadership to become a member of the United Nations. But I do believe that the status quo is not sustainable either. As such, I suggest that this body agree to a one year conditional approval of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations with the caveat that if there has been no agreement finalized between us by that time that approval will be revoked. Conditional membership means that while Palestine can sit as a member of the General Assembly, it cannot access other arms of the United Nations, such as the International Court of Justice, during this interim period.
You may then ask: What incentive do we in Israel have to finalize such an agreement? The answer is very simple. Our people are as tired of war and conflict as are the Palestinians. The overwhelming majority of our population would like to see an end to the conflict so that they can live normal lives and stop sending their husbands, sons, and fathers to fight. We believe that with peace we can continue to assist the Palestinian economy to grow and prosper as evidenced by the existing investments in growth funds there by Israeli venture capitalists such as Chemi Peres. We have said for many years that it is in our mutual interest to find a way to co-exist in peace and security.
One year ago US President Obama stood here and expressed his hope that this year would see the entry of the new State of Palestine into the United Nations. But while his efforts and those of the Quartet, among others, were both sincere and appreciated, peace cannot come to our joint land by the efforts of outsiders, no matter how well intentioned. Peace between us is in our hands and, from this podium, I extend the hand of peace to Mahmoud Abbas and say let us sit down together and, between us, hammer out the framework of an agreement the will bring this conflict to a satisfactory end. Neither of us will achieve all we desire but if, at the end of this journey, the future of our children and our children’s children will be secure we will have achieved infinitely more than our predecessors, and engender the eternal gratitude of both of our peoples.
Next week, Jews around the world will usher in the new year of 5772. Unlike most cultures, we do so with prayer, family gatherings and awareness of the biblical injunction to hear the sound of the shofar, the ram’s horn, which reminds us all of God’s power in this universe. And then we greet each other with the words l’shanah tovah tikatev v’taihatem which means may you be inscribed and sealed for a good year. That is our wish today. That the new year about to begin will be one where all of us will be inscribed in the book of life and sealed for a good year of peace and tranquility once and for all for all mankind. We can hope for no less. Thank you!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
7 Days to Go – Is There a Solution?
By Sherwin Pomerantz
Now there is one week to September 20th when the Palestinian Arab leadership will submit its request to the UN to approve their desire for statehood. The clock is ticking.
As for what will happen in New York next week, finally the American Jewish community seems to be planning some demonstrations across from the UN, although in my opinion the number of people expected is still too low. For example, I received the following from a friend here:
"A crowd of 15,000 people is expected outside the United Nations September 21, when a coalition of Jewish and non-Jewish supporters of Israel is scheduled to hold a rally on behalf of the Jewish state. While the main focus is the Palestinian Authority's bid for General Assembly recognition as a sovereign state, the demonstration will serve as a platform to voice opposition to the "Durban III" Conference against Racism, which illustrates the UN's bias against Israel."
"Chairman Calev Myers of the Jerusalem Center for Justice, one of the movers behind the rally, said, Sunday, that people cannot be silent in face of the world's hypocrisy and that this summer has shown that demonstrations accomplish things, adding that the September 21st rally will be something that cannot be ignored."
Well, if 15,000 materialize that will be good but just a tenth of what is needed. Rumor has it that some other groups are working on demonstrations as well but, as I have found over the last few weeks when inquiring about the subject, no one wants to provide details. So it is difficult for me to understand how a good crowd will show up if no one wants to speak about it publicly, even at this late date. Time will tell whether there will be enough people there to make the point. I certainly hope so although I have met absolutely no one in my 8 days here in New York who is planning on being there, so my concern about the size of any demonstration is real.
There is now, of course, a great deal of material coming out on possible solutions to the challenges that will face Israel after the UN vote, however it goes, although the presumption is that a US veto in the security council will further isolate both Israel and the US. But the fallout will be dramatically different for both countries. The US, in spite of the current economic challenges it faces, remains a world power with a huge economy, 307 million people and still generally held in high regard worldwide. But Israel is a small country, just 7 million people, seen (incorrectly) in many places in the world as the source of all of the globe’s problems. While at the moment the Israeli economy is thriving, eventually continued isolation will have its economic effect as well and there is no telling where that will lead.
So Israel’s challenge right now is to begin to strategize how it will cope in a world that will be significantly different after September than it is today. Further political isolation, the threat of civil unrest in both the Israeli and Palestinian sectors, a potentially declining economy, all combined could have significant long term negative results for the country. As a born optimist, I believe we have both the intellectual capacity and the moral fibre to meet the challenge and come out whole, but it will not be an easy path to tread and our leadership will need to be incredibly creative as it deals with these issues.
This morning’s papers indicate that Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided to travel to New York and address the General Assembly on behalf of the people of Israel. In principle that is a good thing and he should be the one to present our case to the world, not someone else in the government as was previously planned. But he needs to be careful not to lecture the world on behalf of the Jewish people. He should, of course, underscore the need for face-to-face negotiations here in order to move forward with any end of the conflict discussions. In addition, the thrust of his comments should indicate that we recognize that the political map in the region will change after the UN session ends later this fall and that Israel has a plan to deal with that and continue in its quest to be a responsible member of the world community. I certainly hope he is up to the task as failure in this effort is simply not an option.
By Sherwin Pomerantz
Now there is one week to September 20th when the Palestinian Arab leadership will submit its request to the UN to approve their desire for statehood. The clock is ticking.
As for what will happen in New York next week, finally the American Jewish community seems to be planning some demonstrations across from the UN, although in my opinion the number of people expected is still too low. For example, I received the following from a friend here:
"A crowd of 15,000 people is expected outside the United Nations September 21, when a coalition of Jewish and non-Jewish supporters of Israel is scheduled to hold a rally on behalf of the Jewish state. While the main focus is the Palestinian Authority's bid for General Assembly recognition as a sovereign state, the demonstration will serve as a platform to voice opposition to the "Durban III" Conference against Racism, which illustrates the UN's bias against Israel."
"Chairman Calev Myers of the Jerusalem Center for Justice, one of the movers behind the rally, said, Sunday, that people cannot be silent in face of the world's hypocrisy and that this summer has shown that demonstrations accomplish things, adding that the September 21st rally will be something that cannot be ignored."
Well, if 15,000 materialize that will be good but just a tenth of what is needed. Rumor has it that some other groups are working on demonstrations as well but, as I have found over the last few weeks when inquiring about the subject, no one wants to provide details. So it is difficult for me to understand how a good crowd will show up if no one wants to speak about it publicly, even at this late date. Time will tell whether there will be enough people there to make the point. I certainly hope so although I have met absolutely no one in my 8 days here in New York who is planning on being there, so my concern about the size of any demonstration is real.
There is now, of course, a great deal of material coming out on possible solutions to the challenges that will face Israel after the UN vote, however it goes, although the presumption is that a US veto in the security council will further isolate both Israel and the US. But the fallout will be dramatically different for both countries. The US, in spite of the current economic challenges it faces, remains a world power with a huge economy, 307 million people and still generally held in high regard worldwide. But Israel is a small country, just 7 million people, seen (incorrectly) in many places in the world as the source of all of the globe’s problems. While at the moment the Israeli economy is thriving, eventually continued isolation will have its economic effect as well and there is no telling where that will lead.
So Israel’s challenge right now is to begin to strategize how it will cope in a world that will be significantly different after September than it is today. Further political isolation, the threat of civil unrest in both the Israeli and Palestinian sectors, a potentially declining economy, all combined could have significant long term negative results for the country. As a born optimist, I believe we have both the intellectual capacity and the moral fibre to meet the challenge and come out whole, but it will not be an easy path to tread and our leadership will need to be incredibly creative as it deals with these issues.
This morning’s papers indicate that Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided to travel to New York and address the General Assembly on behalf of the people of Israel. In principle that is a good thing and he should be the one to present our case to the world, not someone else in the government as was previously planned. But he needs to be careful not to lecture the world on behalf of the Jewish people. He should, of course, underscore the need for face-to-face negotiations here in order to move forward with any end of the conflict discussions. In addition, the thrust of his comments should indicate that we recognize that the political map in the region will change after the UN session ends later this fall and that Israel has a plan to deal with that and continue in its quest to be a responsible member of the world community. I certainly hope he is up to the task as failure in this effort is simply not an option.
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
8 Days to Go – The Time to SHOUT!
By Sherwin Pomerantz
The countdown continues with just 8 days to September 20th when the Palestinian Arab leadership will submit its request to the UN to approve their desire for statehood. One gets the feeling that it is a replay of the final scene from the movie Thelma & Louise, with great numbers of experienced diplomats worldwide saying this is a bad move, while the powers that be continue to the edge of the cliff undaunted by such concerns.
It seems inconceivable that it was just eighteen years ago today, September 13, 1993, that then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, of blessed memory, former President Clinton and then PLO Chairman Arafat with Shimon Peres looking on signed what has become known as the Oslo Accords which many of us thought heralded a new era of peace and understanding in our part of the world. I can remember Rabin’s words even today when he turned to Arafat and said “no more wars.” How we were all misled.
Today, 18 years later, Israel finds itself probably more isolated than it has been since the founding of the state. Some salient points:
Item: Iran threatens Israel and the Jewish people with annihilation, its president denies that the Holocaust existed, and he never misses an opportunity to threaten the US as well. Yet, he is given a visa to enter the US and, according to news reports today, will have a number of meetings while there including a dinner with at least 15 students from Columbia University (and I have no doubt, to our eternal shame, that some of them will be Jewish as well).
Item: The prime minister of Turkey continues his inflammatory rhetoric against Israel which began not, as some would have it, with the Mavi Marmara incident in May 2010 but in Davos on January 29, 2009. Art that time he castigated Shimon Peres, the President of Israel, for Israel’s alleged commission of war crimes and then walked off the stage in a huff saying he would not return to Davos. Today, as he ramps up his anti-Israel tone to new levels he sees himself as the new political leader of the Muslim world who must vilify Israel in order to gain credence with that constituency. It amazes me that anyone is surprised by his behavior and the direction he is trying to take Turkey. No doubt Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, is rolling over in his grave watching this. This, the very same Turkey that openly welcomed the Jews of Iberia to its shores during the inquisition and gave them a safe haven for over 500 years.
Item: Europe, with a history of anti-Semitism of which it should be ashamed for all time, chooses to take sides with the enemies of Israel under the so-called protection of human rights umbrella. Witness this statement made on August 12th by Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission: "It is with deep regret that, once again, I received information of the publicly stated intention of the Israeli government to continue settlement expansion in East Jerusalem. The EU has repeatedly called on Israel to end all settlement activity, including natural growth, and to dismantle outposts erected since March 2001. Settlement activity threatens the viability of an agreed two-state solution and undermines ongoing efforts to resume negotiations." No mention made, of course, that Israel halted all settlement activity for 10 months last year and that still was not sufficient to bring the Palestinian leadership to the table.
Item: Egypt’s new political leadership, in an effort to protect the building which houses the Israeli embassy in Cairo (after protesters took down the Israeli flag a week earlier) builds a wall around the building. But the mob is not satisfied and late last week attacks the wall in an attempt to tear it down. As a result, Israel brought all of its people home as Egypt could not guarantee the safety of the legation. So a cold peace just went into the deep freeze.
The UN General Assembly, when it most likely approves the request of the Palestinian Arab leadership for the recognition of statehood, will create a major problem for the region, as the New York Times said in an editorial a few days ago: “A United Nations vote on Palestinian membership would be ruinous. Yet with little time left before the U.N. General Assembly meets, the United States, Israel and Europe have shown insufficient urgency or boldness in trying to find a compromise solution. The need for action is even more acute after alarming tensions flared in recent days between Israel and two critical regional players — Egypt and Turkey.”
The saddest part of all of this is that the world has not heard much in the way of objections, concern and anger about all of this from the Jewish community. Yes, there are some petitions circulating on the Internet and that is good, but where are the mass demonstrations? Why won’t 350,000 American Jews and their friends demonstrate at the UN next week and show their concern for the future of Israel which is also the key to the long term future of the American Jewish community?
Last weekend I met committed religious Jews who were not even aware of what will be going on over the next weeks at the UN and its potential impact on them as well as those of us who live in Israel. How can we understand that? Is that even possible? Are we to stand by silently once again and watch as the world demonizes us? And does the world really believe that if there was a Palestinian state that there would be peace in the Middle East? Or that the simple act of validating Palestinian statehood will solve the world’s problems?
Let’s hope that what Martin Luther King said during his lifetime remains true, “A lie cannot live.” But the lie needs to be exposed and the way to do it is for First Avenue in New York City to be made impassable next week by the sheer numbers who are prepared to stand there and expose the lie to the world. The lessons of history demand no less than that from us!
By Sherwin Pomerantz
The countdown continues with just 8 days to September 20th when the Palestinian Arab leadership will submit its request to the UN to approve their desire for statehood. One gets the feeling that it is a replay of the final scene from the movie Thelma & Louise, with great numbers of experienced diplomats worldwide saying this is a bad move, while the powers that be continue to the edge of the cliff undaunted by such concerns.
It seems inconceivable that it was just eighteen years ago today, September 13, 1993, that then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, of blessed memory, former President Clinton and then PLO Chairman Arafat with Shimon Peres looking on signed what has become known as the Oslo Accords which many of us thought heralded a new era of peace and understanding in our part of the world. I can remember Rabin’s words even today when he turned to Arafat and said “no more wars.” How we were all misled.
Today, 18 years later, Israel finds itself probably more isolated than it has been since the founding of the state. Some salient points:
Item: Iran threatens Israel and the Jewish people with annihilation, its president denies that the Holocaust existed, and he never misses an opportunity to threaten the US as well. Yet, he is given a visa to enter the US and, according to news reports today, will have a number of meetings while there including a dinner with at least 15 students from Columbia University (and I have no doubt, to our eternal shame, that some of them will be Jewish as well).
Item: The prime minister of Turkey continues his inflammatory rhetoric against Israel which began not, as some would have it, with the Mavi Marmara incident in May 2010 but in Davos on January 29, 2009. Art that time he castigated Shimon Peres, the President of Israel, for Israel’s alleged commission of war crimes and then walked off the stage in a huff saying he would not return to Davos. Today, as he ramps up his anti-Israel tone to new levels he sees himself as the new political leader of the Muslim world who must vilify Israel in order to gain credence with that constituency. It amazes me that anyone is surprised by his behavior and the direction he is trying to take Turkey. No doubt Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, is rolling over in his grave watching this. This, the very same Turkey that openly welcomed the Jews of Iberia to its shores during the inquisition and gave them a safe haven for over 500 years.
Item: Europe, with a history of anti-Semitism of which it should be ashamed for all time, chooses to take sides with the enemies of Israel under the so-called protection of human rights umbrella. Witness this statement made on August 12th by Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the Commission: "It is with deep regret that, once again, I received information of the publicly stated intention of the Israeli government to continue settlement expansion in East Jerusalem. The EU has repeatedly called on Israel to end all settlement activity, including natural growth, and to dismantle outposts erected since March 2001. Settlement activity threatens the viability of an agreed two-state solution and undermines ongoing efforts to resume negotiations." No mention made, of course, that Israel halted all settlement activity for 10 months last year and that still was not sufficient to bring the Palestinian leadership to the table.
Item: Egypt’s new political leadership, in an effort to protect the building which houses the Israeli embassy in Cairo (after protesters took down the Israeli flag a week earlier) builds a wall around the building. But the mob is not satisfied and late last week attacks the wall in an attempt to tear it down. As a result, Israel brought all of its people home as Egypt could not guarantee the safety of the legation. So a cold peace just went into the deep freeze.
The UN General Assembly, when it most likely approves the request of the Palestinian Arab leadership for the recognition of statehood, will create a major problem for the region, as the New York Times said in an editorial a few days ago: “A United Nations vote on Palestinian membership would be ruinous. Yet with little time left before the U.N. General Assembly meets, the United States, Israel and Europe have shown insufficient urgency or boldness in trying to find a compromise solution. The need for action is even more acute after alarming tensions flared in recent days between Israel and two critical regional players — Egypt and Turkey.”
The saddest part of all of this is that the world has not heard much in the way of objections, concern and anger about all of this from the Jewish community. Yes, there are some petitions circulating on the Internet and that is good, but where are the mass demonstrations? Why won’t 350,000 American Jews and their friends demonstrate at the UN next week and show their concern for the future of Israel which is also the key to the long term future of the American Jewish community?
Last weekend I met committed religious Jews who were not even aware of what will be going on over the next weeks at the UN and its potential impact on them as well as those of us who live in Israel. How can we understand that? Is that even possible? Are we to stand by silently once again and watch as the world demonizes us? And does the world really believe that if there was a Palestinian state that there would be peace in the Middle East? Or that the simple act of validating Palestinian statehood will solve the world’s problems?
Let’s hope that what Martin Luther King said during his lifetime remains true, “A lie cannot live.” But the lie needs to be exposed and the way to do it is for First Avenue in New York City to be made impassable next week by the sheer numbers who are prepared to stand there and expose the lie to the world. The lessons of history demand no less than that from us!
Friday, September 9, 2011
10 Days to Go – Upping the Ante
By Sherwin Pomerantz
In just 10 days the 66th Regular Session of the UN General Assembly will receive a request from the Palestinian Arab leadership to approve their desire for statehood, even though there is a ground swell of opinion worldwide that this is not a smart move on their part. Reports now indicate that the US has issued a formal request to Chairman Abbas that he not go ahead with this initiative. The US has also reiterated its position that if the vote comes to the Security Council, which it will prior to going to the General Assembly, the US will use its veto to block the Council’s approval.
News coming out of Israel this week quotes Chairman Abbas as saying that once the UN approves the request for statehood, the Palestinian leadership is prepared to sit down with Israel and return to negotiations. One wonders why they need to wait until then when the opportunity to sit down with Israel has been out there for not months, but years? Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu this week has even done what I have been urging for months, openly stating that he is ready to sit down with Abbas anywhere: Jerusalem, Ramallah, or even Brussels, to negotiate peace without prior conditions. But, of course, Abbas wants all kinds of preconditions in place so that Israel can tip its full hand before the negotiations begin. Welcome to the Middle East!
Simultaneously Turkey continues its sabre rattling with PM Erdogan saying that when he decides to go to Gaza he will be accompanied by Turkish military vessels for protection. But clearly this will not be for protection, but simply to dare Israel to engage those vessels in order to prevent the breaking of the blockade of Gaza which would then lead to an even further deterioration of relations or even regional war. To top it off Turkish President Gül calls Israel an “ungrateful burden” to the world and to the region.
The only people that don’t seem to be perturbed by any of this negativism is Standard & Poor’s, which just raised its rating of Israel’s financial condition from A to A+ saying that this reflects “the responsible economic policy of the Government of Israel.” This is the same S&P that recently downgraded the US’ credit rating but that seems to have no problem with Israel in spite of all the sabre rattling going on. What a world eh?
As for the need to demonstrate at the UN in the coming weeks, kudos go to Rabbi Avi Weiss of New York who is organizing what he calls “massive civil disobedience” opposite the UN on September 20th. Rabbi Weiss, who has consistently been at the forefront of demonstrations in places where the organized Jewish community has generally cautioned a soft approach, is to be commended for taking the leadership in this area and organizing this protest of what will surely be a major period of Israel-bashing at the UN. He is an example for all of us as to what one person can do when properly motivated.
All of this, of course, supports the old adage that there are people who look at a glass and see it half full while others look at the same glass and see it as half empty. As I have often said you cannot live in Israel and be a pessimist, as only optimism enables people to prevail here.
Tomorrow, in synagogues worldwide the portion of Ki Tetze will be read from the Torah. In addition to setting out a series of laws to be observed when living in the land of Israel, the portion also includes the reference to Amalek and the fact that he was representative of those who arise in every generation to do terrible things to the Jewish people. It will be a sobering reminder, as it is supposed to be, of both the continuing threat to our survival that we face on a regular basis and, more importantly, that all of those who have sought to destroy us are long gone from this earth. May that positive outcome continue for all time to come.
By Sherwin Pomerantz
In just 10 days the 66th Regular Session of the UN General Assembly will receive a request from the Palestinian Arab leadership to approve their desire for statehood, even though there is a ground swell of opinion worldwide that this is not a smart move on their part. Reports now indicate that the US has issued a formal request to Chairman Abbas that he not go ahead with this initiative. The US has also reiterated its position that if the vote comes to the Security Council, which it will prior to going to the General Assembly, the US will use its veto to block the Council’s approval.
News coming out of Israel this week quotes Chairman Abbas as saying that once the UN approves the request for statehood, the Palestinian leadership is prepared to sit down with Israel and return to negotiations. One wonders why they need to wait until then when the opportunity to sit down with Israel has been out there for not months, but years? Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu this week has even done what I have been urging for months, openly stating that he is ready to sit down with Abbas anywhere: Jerusalem, Ramallah, or even Brussels, to negotiate peace without prior conditions. But, of course, Abbas wants all kinds of preconditions in place so that Israel can tip its full hand before the negotiations begin. Welcome to the Middle East!
Simultaneously Turkey continues its sabre rattling with PM Erdogan saying that when he decides to go to Gaza he will be accompanied by Turkish military vessels for protection. But clearly this will not be for protection, but simply to dare Israel to engage those vessels in order to prevent the breaking of the blockade of Gaza which would then lead to an even further deterioration of relations or even regional war. To top it off Turkish President Gül calls Israel an “ungrateful burden” to the world and to the region.
The only people that don’t seem to be perturbed by any of this negativism is Standard & Poor’s, which just raised its rating of Israel’s financial condition from A to A+ saying that this reflects “the responsible economic policy of the Government of Israel.” This is the same S&P that recently downgraded the US’ credit rating but that seems to have no problem with Israel in spite of all the sabre rattling going on. What a world eh?
As for the need to demonstrate at the UN in the coming weeks, kudos go to Rabbi Avi Weiss of New York who is organizing what he calls “massive civil disobedience” opposite the UN on September 20th. Rabbi Weiss, who has consistently been at the forefront of demonstrations in places where the organized Jewish community has generally cautioned a soft approach, is to be commended for taking the leadership in this area and organizing this protest of what will surely be a major period of Israel-bashing at the UN. He is an example for all of us as to what one person can do when properly motivated.
All of this, of course, supports the old adage that there are people who look at a glass and see it half full while others look at the same glass and see it as half empty. As I have often said you cannot live in Israel and be a pessimist, as only optimism enables people to prevail here.
Tomorrow, in synagogues worldwide the portion of Ki Tetze will be read from the Torah. In addition to setting out a series of laws to be observed when living in the land of Israel, the portion also includes the reference to Amalek and the fact that he was representative of those who arise in every generation to do terrible things to the Jewish people. It will be a sobering reminder, as it is supposed to be, of both the continuing threat to our survival that we face on a regular basis and, more importantly, that all of those who have sought to destroy us are long gone from this earth. May that positive outcome continue for all time to come.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
14 Days to Go – Turkey Goes “Bananas”
By Sherwin Pomerantz
With 14 days to go to September 20th when the Palestinian Arab leadership intends to present their petition for the UN approval of statehood, things are definitely heating up in the region.
On Monday morning the early flight on Turkish Airlines from Tel Aviv to Istanbul landed there with, of course, dozens of Israelis traveling to Turkey on business. Many of these people are there regularly, either once a week or once a month. Contrary to normal procedure, those traveling on Israeli passports were herded into a holding area before arriving at passport control. All of their passports were taken by the authorities and, according to the report of one of the passengers each of the Israelis had two Turkish policemen guarding them during the 90 minutes that they were detained. The travelers were not advised as to what the problem was and at the end of the 90 minutes, their passports were returned and they entered the country. My information is that in retaliation Israel did something similar later in the day with Turkish passport holders trying to enter the country. Sounds like a game we used to play as kids but, sadly, this is real.
For my readers who have not traveled to Turkey, it is important to know that those of us who hold Israeli passports generally use them to enter Turkey even though we might also have US passports. The reason is one of pure economics. US citizens need to purchase a visa to enter the country whereas Israelis enter under Turkey’s visa waiver program. So one can imagine not only the shock of this change of procedure, but also the feelings of discomfort (and even rage) on the part of those Jews who, once again in history, were asked to surrender their passports simply because they were Jewish. I need not go further into the memories generated by such action.
Clearly the Erdogan government is on a track to use Israel as a scapegoat to divert attention from all his other problems including the frustration with Syria with whom Turkey shares a border, the continuing protests and bombings by the Kurds living in Turkey, the frustration of the Armenians in not having Turkey recognize the Armenian Genocide and the general snubbing of Turkey by the EU. Erdogan’s most recent move on Tuesday to also consider freezing bilateral trade between Turkey and Israel which represents a hefty $1.5 billion annually to the Turkish economy shows just how far he is prepared to go to make his point. If he also carries out his threat to travel to Gaza accompanied by Turkish warships, the winds of war in the region will pick up considerable speed and strength.
All of this, of course, seemingly in response to Israel’s reaction to the attempt by some Turkish ships in May 2010 to break the blockade of Gaza and the just-issued UN Palmer Report on the incident.
The Wall Street Journal in a lead editorial earlier this week was on target when it said:
"Here's a story for the man-bites-dog folder: The United Nations has conducted another inquiry into an Israeli military operation—and produced a report that mainly vindicates the Jewish state. And here, alas, is a story for the dog-bites-man folder: The Turkish government has responded to the U.N. report by withdrawing its ambassador from Tel Aviv and expelling Israel's from Ankara."
"The Palmer report—named for the inquiry's chairman, former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer—was commissioned by the U.N.'s Secretary General to investigate the May 2010 "flotilla incident," when six ships sailing from Turkey to Gaza on an alleged humanitarian mission were boarded by Israeli commandos enforcing a naval blockade of Gaza. Nine passengers were killed (and several Israeli soldiers badly beaten) in the ensuing melee, sparking a crisis in Jerusalem's already frayed relations with Ankara."
One can never predict what will happen in the Middle East as everything here defies logic.
Meanwhile, the UN activities related to our part of the world remain on track for later this month preceded by the Durban 3 conference against racism which, once again, will disintegrate into an Israel-bashing event of significant proportions. There does not seem to be any activity against this going on in the Jewish community in the US except for some petitions that are being circulated on the internet. However, there is one group planning a huge demonstration at the Isaiah Wall across from the UN (see http://www.protestdurban3.com/). A group of Christian clergy is putting this together on September 21st at noon on 47th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues in order to demonstrate their disappointment in using the UN as a platform to target Jews and Israel. While I applaud their efforts it is sad, once again, that the local Jewish community is not part of this.
Nevertheless, the pressure at the UN and in other spheres of activity must remain at a high level so that the world is made to understand that Israel is here to stay and that all of the world’s problems cannot reasonably be blamed on the existence of 7 million people in one small piece of land at the eastern end of the Mediterranean. The perverse logic that brings people to such a conclusion speaks to the ignorance of mankind in the face of truth.
By Sherwin Pomerantz
With 14 days to go to September 20th when the Palestinian Arab leadership intends to present their petition for the UN approval of statehood, things are definitely heating up in the region.
On Monday morning the early flight on Turkish Airlines from Tel Aviv to Istanbul landed there with, of course, dozens of Israelis traveling to Turkey on business. Many of these people are there regularly, either once a week or once a month. Contrary to normal procedure, those traveling on Israeli passports were herded into a holding area before arriving at passport control. All of their passports were taken by the authorities and, according to the report of one of the passengers each of the Israelis had two Turkish policemen guarding them during the 90 minutes that they were detained. The travelers were not advised as to what the problem was and at the end of the 90 minutes, their passports were returned and they entered the country. My information is that in retaliation Israel did something similar later in the day with Turkish passport holders trying to enter the country. Sounds like a game we used to play as kids but, sadly, this is real.
For my readers who have not traveled to Turkey, it is important to know that those of us who hold Israeli passports generally use them to enter Turkey even though we might also have US passports. The reason is one of pure economics. US citizens need to purchase a visa to enter the country whereas Israelis enter under Turkey’s visa waiver program. So one can imagine not only the shock of this change of procedure, but also the feelings of discomfort (and even rage) on the part of those Jews who, once again in history, were asked to surrender their passports simply because they were Jewish. I need not go further into the memories generated by such action.
Clearly the Erdogan government is on a track to use Israel as a scapegoat to divert attention from all his other problems including the frustration with Syria with whom Turkey shares a border, the continuing protests and bombings by the Kurds living in Turkey, the frustration of the Armenians in not having Turkey recognize the Armenian Genocide and the general snubbing of Turkey by the EU. Erdogan’s most recent move on Tuesday to also consider freezing bilateral trade between Turkey and Israel which represents a hefty $1.5 billion annually to the Turkish economy shows just how far he is prepared to go to make his point. If he also carries out his threat to travel to Gaza accompanied by Turkish warships, the winds of war in the region will pick up considerable speed and strength.
All of this, of course, seemingly in response to Israel’s reaction to the attempt by some Turkish ships in May 2010 to break the blockade of Gaza and the just-issued UN Palmer Report on the incident.
The Wall Street Journal in a lead editorial earlier this week was on target when it said:
"Here's a story for the man-bites-dog folder: The United Nations has conducted another inquiry into an Israeli military operation—and produced a report that mainly vindicates the Jewish state. And here, alas, is a story for the dog-bites-man folder: The Turkish government has responded to the U.N. report by withdrawing its ambassador from Tel Aviv and expelling Israel's from Ankara."
"The Palmer report—named for the inquiry's chairman, former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer—was commissioned by the U.N.'s Secretary General to investigate the May 2010 "flotilla incident," when six ships sailing from Turkey to Gaza on an alleged humanitarian mission were boarded by Israeli commandos enforcing a naval blockade of Gaza. Nine passengers were killed (and several Israeli soldiers badly beaten) in the ensuing melee, sparking a crisis in Jerusalem's already frayed relations with Ankara."
One can never predict what will happen in the Middle East as everything here defies logic.
Meanwhile, the UN activities related to our part of the world remain on track for later this month preceded by the Durban 3 conference against racism which, once again, will disintegrate into an Israel-bashing event of significant proportions. There does not seem to be any activity against this going on in the Jewish community in the US except for some petitions that are being circulated on the internet. However, there is one group planning a huge demonstration at the Isaiah Wall across from the UN (see http://www.protestdurban3.com/). A group of Christian clergy is putting this together on September 21st at noon on 47th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues in order to demonstrate their disappointment in using the UN as a platform to target Jews and Israel. While I applaud their efforts it is sad, once again, that the local Jewish community is not part of this.
Nevertheless, the pressure at the UN and in other spheres of activity must remain at a high level so that the world is made to understand that Israel is here to stay and that all of the world’s problems cannot reasonably be blamed on the existence of 7 million people in one small piece of land at the eastern end of the Mediterranean. The perverse logic that brings people to such a conclusion speaks to the ignorance of mankind in the face of truth.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
16 Days to Go – Cooler Heads Needed Here
By Sherwin Pomerantz
With 16 days to go to September 20th when the Palestinian Arab leadership intends to present their petition for the UN approval of statehood, there seems to be a new initiative on the part of the United States to convince the Palestinians not to go through with this.
The reasons are pretty obvious to all. In the first place, the US has indicated that while it will use its veto power in the Security Council to block that body’s approval of the petition, it really does not want to do this. If it does use the veto it will destroy the US’ credibility both with the Palestinian Arab leadership as well as the rest of the Arab world and make it impossible for the US to have any long term role in further peace efforts in the region.
Secondly, there is great concern throughout the world and the region as to what will happen on the ground after the vote and clearly the US would prefer to see the issue not come to the table thereby averting an unpredictable set of events that could be difficult to manage and contain. The Palestinian Arab leadership for its part seems hell bent on going through with this but, of course, this is the Middle East and the word “certain” does not appear in the general diplomatic language of the region.
As if this was not enough of an issue to deal with over the next two weeks, Turkey continues its threats against Israel and every day seems to up the ante for restoring relations between the two countries to the level they were up until the flotilla incident in May 2010. Turkey has now downgraded its emissary in Tel Aviv to the level of 2nd Secretary and is threatening to take military action should anyone try to interfere with their shipping in the Eastern Mediterranean. The clear implication being that if it should try to break the blockade of Gaza by itself and Israel were to try to block such an attempt, Turkey would resort to military action. That threat seems to be spooking the west as well.
In a reversal of its general trend to always criticize Israel for whatever ills befall the region, the New York Times today in a lead editorial said the following on this subject:
"We don’t blame Israel for wondering if Turkey is keeping this conflict going to burnish its standing in the Arab world. Turkey is risking a lot, including billions in trade with Israel and its reputation as a responsible international player. Israel certainly doesn’t need to be any more isolated than it is. Israel should apologize for the deaths. And Turkey should stop upping the ante."
I would agree that Israel should apologize for the deaths of the Turks on board the Mavi Marmara, which is simply good conduct between friends. We would expect no less if the tables were turned. The Israeli government’s reluctance to do so is just foolhardy diplomacy. But Turkey’s continued harping on the subject and using it as an excuse to change the relationship between the two countries is even more unreasonable.
Herman Wouk would say that the winds of war are kicking up quite a storm in our region and, of course, when that happens any misstep can cause the diplomatic parrying to turn into full scale hostilities.
Cooler heads need to prevail if war of any kind is to be averted. Turkey should tone down the rhetoric, Israel should do what it needs to do to show its good faith in that effort, and the Palestinian Arab leadership should withdraw their petition for UN membership as they stand to lose much more by going ahead with this than the gain they might have convinced themselves will be theirs.
But, of course, when was the last time cool heads prevailed in our part of the world? Let’s hope!
By Sherwin Pomerantz
With 16 days to go to September 20th when the Palestinian Arab leadership intends to present their petition for the UN approval of statehood, there seems to be a new initiative on the part of the United States to convince the Palestinians not to go through with this.
The reasons are pretty obvious to all. In the first place, the US has indicated that while it will use its veto power in the Security Council to block that body’s approval of the petition, it really does not want to do this. If it does use the veto it will destroy the US’ credibility both with the Palestinian Arab leadership as well as the rest of the Arab world and make it impossible for the US to have any long term role in further peace efforts in the region.
Secondly, there is great concern throughout the world and the region as to what will happen on the ground after the vote and clearly the US would prefer to see the issue not come to the table thereby averting an unpredictable set of events that could be difficult to manage and contain. The Palestinian Arab leadership for its part seems hell bent on going through with this but, of course, this is the Middle East and the word “certain” does not appear in the general diplomatic language of the region.
As if this was not enough of an issue to deal with over the next two weeks, Turkey continues its threats against Israel and every day seems to up the ante for restoring relations between the two countries to the level they were up until the flotilla incident in May 2010. Turkey has now downgraded its emissary in Tel Aviv to the level of 2nd Secretary and is threatening to take military action should anyone try to interfere with their shipping in the Eastern Mediterranean. The clear implication being that if it should try to break the blockade of Gaza by itself and Israel were to try to block such an attempt, Turkey would resort to military action. That threat seems to be spooking the west as well.
In a reversal of its general trend to always criticize Israel for whatever ills befall the region, the New York Times today in a lead editorial said the following on this subject:
"We don’t blame Israel for wondering if Turkey is keeping this conflict going to burnish its standing in the Arab world. Turkey is risking a lot, including billions in trade with Israel and its reputation as a responsible international player. Israel certainly doesn’t need to be any more isolated than it is. Israel should apologize for the deaths. And Turkey should stop upping the ante."
I would agree that Israel should apologize for the deaths of the Turks on board the Mavi Marmara, which is simply good conduct between friends. We would expect no less if the tables were turned. The Israeli government’s reluctance to do so is just foolhardy diplomacy. But Turkey’s continued harping on the subject and using it as an excuse to change the relationship between the two countries is even more unreasonable.
Herman Wouk would say that the winds of war are kicking up quite a storm in our region and, of course, when that happens any misstep can cause the diplomatic parrying to turn into full scale hostilities.
Cooler heads need to prevail if war of any kind is to be averted. Turkey should tone down the rhetoric, Israel should do what it needs to do to show its good faith in that effort, and the Palestinian Arab leadership should withdraw their petition for UN membership as they stand to lose much more by going ahead with this than the gain they might have convinced themselves will be theirs.
But, of course, when was the last time cool heads prevailed in our part of the world? Let’s hope!
Friday, September 2, 2011
11 Days to Go – Resetting the Clock
By Sherwin Pomerantz
With 11 days to go to the opening of the 66th Regular Session of the UN General Assembly on September 13th it seems now that the Palestinian Arab leadership will not submit their request for statehood until September 20th, so we will re-set the countdown clock by one week and now call it 18 days to go.
The real question remains what the Palestinian Arab leadership really wants at the end of the day, a state or the ultimate elimination of Israel? Many people, of course, believe the latter.
But today there is yet another new regional development that is also quite worrisome. The UN has published what is known as the Palmer Report on the Gaza Flotilla Incident of May 2010. The report sustains Israel’s right to impose the blockade on Gaza as an enemy entity bent on Israel’s destruction while somewhat castigating Israel for the manner in which the country approached the Mavi Marmara and carried out its attempt to foil the blockade.
Turkey is clearly disturbed that the report was not more forceful and that it did not lay the entire blame for everything at the feet of Israel. Given that the Turkish Government announced today that it was expelling Israel’s envoy to the country and cutting all military cooperation with Israel, and that this is only the first of a series of steps to downgrade the relationship between the two countries, the situation is of concern.
On the Israeli side some of the members of the government here suggested that diplomacy demands that we, in turn, expel the Turkish envoy to Israel in retaliation for Turkey’s action. Time will tell whether there is sufficient support for that in Israel but, no doubt, it will be a popular action among the locals here.
But what is more disturbing is the severing of military cooperation. On the one hand, the strategic cooperation in the defense sector between Israel and Turkey has been critical to the long term interests of both countries and the attempt to maintain a relatively balanced military footprint in the region. My guess is that the defense establishments in both countries are upset about this decision by the political leadership in Turkey.
However, what is of even more concern is the indication as to who is really calling the shots in Turkey. Traditionally ever since the modern country of Turkey was founded by Ataturk as a secular society, it has been the military that has zealously protected that concept and made it work in this Muslim country. In the past when the political element tried to move the country away from secularism to a more traditionally religious framework, the military took action to prevent that.
Two months ago the political leadership sacked a whole raft of senior generals and replaced them with people more in keeping with the desire to increase the religious influence in society. Today’s action takes this one step further by clearly indicating that the political establishment is in full control even over the military. The stage seems set, therefore, for an increasing amount of religious influence in all spheres of government which will also have the effect of moving the country further out of the western political orbit.
To those of us who have spent considerable time in Turkey this is a sad turn of events as the country was always held up as an example of a Muslim country that could be politically secular, democratic in nature and a full respecter of human rights. Over the last few years as a result of the emergence of the AKP party as the dominant political force in the country, human rights have been consistently violated. Recent statistics have shown, for example, that Turkey has the largest number of media people in jail for taking public positions against the stance of the ruling party. The purge of the military last month was another nail in the coffin of the secular democracy. Today’s action against Israel shows just how far the power balance has shifted in favor of the AKP.
The sands in the region have shifted dramatically over the past six months and there is no telling how far they will move. Israel, of course, as the only truly democratic country in the region (admittedly not as much of a western democracy as a Bolshevik one) will have its mettle tested as it attempts to navigate these difficult waters simultaneously dealing with the ongoing events at the UN. To say the least, the next few months will bear critical watching.
By Sherwin Pomerantz
With 11 days to go to the opening of the 66th Regular Session of the UN General Assembly on September 13th it seems now that the Palestinian Arab leadership will not submit their request for statehood until September 20th, so we will re-set the countdown clock by one week and now call it 18 days to go.
The real question remains what the Palestinian Arab leadership really wants at the end of the day, a state or the ultimate elimination of Israel? Many people, of course, believe the latter.
But today there is yet another new regional development that is also quite worrisome. The UN has published what is known as the Palmer Report on the Gaza Flotilla Incident of May 2010. The report sustains Israel’s right to impose the blockade on Gaza as an enemy entity bent on Israel’s destruction while somewhat castigating Israel for the manner in which the country approached the Mavi Marmara and carried out its attempt to foil the blockade.
Turkey is clearly disturbed that the report was not more forceful and that it did not lay the entire blame for everything at the feet of Israel. Given that the Turkish Government announced today that it was expelling Israel’s envoy to the country and cutting all military cooperation with Israel, and that this is only the first of a series of steps to downgrade the relationship between the two countries, the situation is of concern.
On the Israeli side some of the members of the government here suggested that diplomacy demands that we, in turn, expel the Turkish envoy to Israel in retaliation for Turkey’s action. Time will tell whether there is sufficient support for that in Israel but, no doubt, it will be a popular action among the locals here.
But what is more disturbing is the severing of military cooperation. On the one hand, the strategic cooperation in the defense sector between Israel and Turkey has been critical to the long term interests of both countries and the attempt to maintain a relatively balanced military footprint in the region. My guess is that the defense establishments in both countries are upset about this decision by the political leadership in Turkey.
However, what is of even more concern is the indication as to who is really calling the shots in Turkey. Traditionally ever since the modern country of Turkey was founded by Ataturk as a secular society, it has been the military that has zealously protected that concept and made it work in this Muslim country. In the past when the political element tried to move the country away from secularism to a more traditionally religious framework, the military took action to prevent that.
Two months ago the political leadership sacked a whole raft of senior generals and replaced them with people more in keeping with the desire to increase the religious influence in society. Today’s action takes this one step further by clearly indicating that the political establishment is in full control even over the military. The stage seems set, therefore, for an increasing amount of religious influence in all spheres of government which will also have the effect of moving the country further out of the western political orbit.
To those of us who have spent considerable time in Turkey this is a sad turn of events as the country was always held up as an example of a Muslim country that could be politically secular, democratic in nature and a full respecter of human rights. Over the last few years as a result of the emergence of the AKP party as the dominant political force in the country, human rights have been consistently violated. Recent statistics have shown, for example, that Turkey has the largest number of media people in jail for taking public positions against the stance of the ruling party. The purge of the military last month was another nail in the coffin of the secular democracy. Today’s action against Israel shows just how far the power balance has shifted in favor of the AKP.
The sands in the region have shifted dramatically over the past six months and there is no telling how far they will move. Israel, of course, as the only truly democratic country in the region (admittedly not as much of a western democracy as a Bolshevik one) will have its mettle tested as it attempts to navigate these difficult waters simultaneously dealing with the ongoing events at the UN. To say the least, the next few months will bear critical watching.
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