Posted on 05/22/2009 1:20:57 PM PDT by pissant
While the US has a voice in Israel’s ear, I’m not so sure it is the most important one. In fact, I think their dilemma rises from within, which I will try and explain.
In Islam, especially among the Palestinians, the primary way a Muslim can assert his faith is with obtaining land. A good Muslim gets more land for Islam, an acceptable one keeps Muslim lands from non-Muslims, and a Muslim who loses Muslim lands is in shame. He has failed his god and his fellow Muslim.
But Israelis have a thousand, ten-thousand things in life that they enjoy, and do not grasp the Muslim single mindedness of demanding land from Israel. The Israelis have offered the Palestinians anything and everything *but* land, and while the Palestinians will take anything that is given to them for free, it means nothing compared to land. All the land the Israelis have. Every square inch is what the Palestinians want, and they will not stop until they get it.
Thus, even if the Israelis offer the Palestinians land, like most recently the Gaza Strip cleared of settlements, it just whets the appetite for more land. It solves nothing—even intensifies the conflict.
So in past I have proposed a different solution, one that the Russians discovered is almost as effective as giving: taking away.
That is, whenever the Palestinians misbehave, the Israelis should take a piece of Palestinian land. It doesn’t have to be much. And the Palestinians would lose their marbles. From that point, the Israelis could say, “stop with the violence”.
And the Palestinians would reply, “And you’ll give us our land back?”, to which the Israelis would say, “No, that land is gone forever. Stop with the violence, or we will take *more* land.”
Much like the Israelis, the international community doesn’t understand the fixation with land. So they would tell Israel that it is a nothing, just a piece of empty desert, so why not give it up as a show of good faith?
But the Israelis would have to adamantly refuse, because to give a Muslim land is to court disaster, for it gives him “land fever”, as intense as gold fever.
This would also insure an end to the conflict, one way or another: either the Palestinians stop with the violence, or they are kicked out into either Egypt or Jordan. And to heck with a “right of return”. But either way, the fighting ends.
And so Gaza and the West Bank wouldn’t be empty, Israel could encourage both Israeli Arabs and settlers to occupy it and rebuild it, as peaceful, modern parts of Israel.
The south of France should be returned to the Cathars.
Thank you, oh thank you for that once-lost image of Belly Girl. I deployed to Central Asia in 2003 vowing to fight for her right to display that oh-so-perfect tummy!
They won’t send me to Iraq, now. Say I’m too old (sixty).
Oh, for the misspent days of foolish youth.
;^)
"Hey Francois, do you speak German?"
He sniffs, "Of course not"
GI: "You're welcome."
Not over me. I am not Jewish. I believe in Christ.
Separately, President Nicolas Sarkozy's office announced that the French leader had invited Netanyahu to talks in Paris on June 3, their first meeting since the Israeli right-winger returned to office in February."the Israeli right-winger" -- AFP is garbage.
*** FRENCH POLITICS AND CULTURE PING LIST *** FREEPMAIL ME IF YOU WANT TO JOIN ***
It is French President Nicolas Sarkozy who has expressed his unconditional support for Israel as a Jewish State. Sarko has said time and again.... “never again”
Look where this “report” is coming from : “France accused” and then quotes a foreign ministry flunkie who does not speak for the President of France.
The paragraph further on down then states that Sarko has invited Bibi for talks and an official visit in June.
AFP, Agence France Presses, is a propaganda left wing journalism source.
“France accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday of prejudicing the outcome of the Middle East peace process by declaring that Jerusalem would forever be Israel’s undivided capital.
“The declaration made by the Israeli prime minister yesterday in Jerusalem prejudices the final status agreement,” foreign ministry spokesman Frederic Desagneaux told reporters in Paris.”
Sarko is not Jewish.
He was born and baptized a Roman Catholic, as are his two sons. On his maternal side, He had a Jewish grandfather, who converted to Romsn Catholicism when he married his grandmother,a Roman Catholic woman called Adele Bouvier.His mother was raised a Roman Catholic. On his paternal side, his father, and both of his paternal grandparents are of the minor Hungarian nobility, Roman Catholics all.
I’m glad Israel has an ally.
It puts my knickers in a twist that the UN does NOTHING about North Korea’s nuclear ambition and continually condemns Israel.
I agree.
I was shocked, not really, I guess, to find out there are 51 countries in the United Nations that refuse to recognize the State of Israel, which is a member State.
When John Bolton was at the UN, I had some hope, but now.... absolutely none.
Israel = God’s Holy Land
Jerusalem = God’s Holy City
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