Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Semi Daily Discussion News Wrap up

Here we go for Tuesday, December 20th:

First off we have this tidbit from Haaretz: Barak: U.S. committed to Israel's security more than ever before

Despite attempts from those with "ODS" (Obama Derangement Syndrome) to try to convince American Jews not to vote for President Obama because supposedly he is bad for Israel at least the Israelis are not falling for that one. Here is Defense Minister Ehud Barak talking about America and Israel:

Obama, Ehud Barak
photo courtesy of Haaretz


Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Tuesday that "the U.S. stands besides Israel in terms of its security more than ever before," and that "both countries agree that everything should be done to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon." \

Speaking with reporters at a Hanukkah ceremony in the Efraim IDF Base that was attacked by right-wing settlers a week ago, Barak said that "it is still time for diplomacy, but we will see what will happen as time goes on."

Panetta said Israel's concern for a nuclear Iran is a "common concern" of the U.S., and that Washington would not rule out a military attack.

"The United States does not want Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. That's a red line for us and that's a red line, obviously, for the Israelis," he told CBS.

Meanwhile, the U.S.¬ and other nations meeting Tuesday in Rome to discuss sanctions against Iran for its alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons have resolved to boost pressure on Tehran to restart negotiations, Italian foreign ministry officials said.

Oh well so much for those right wing memes

Our second story comes courtesy of Jeremy's Knesset Blog (a great resource for info. on what is actually being discussed in the Knesset.

First of all - the Government today threw back three no-confidence measures:

* Kadima’s no-confidence motion titled ‘The Netanyahu government undermines the middle class and the disadvantaged groups’ was defeated 32-48 with 40 MKs not present.
* Hadash, Ra’am-Ta’al and Balad’s joint no-confidence motion titled ‘The government is trying to bury the demands of social justice’ was defeated 30-49 with 41 MKs not present.
* Labor and Meretz’s joint no-confidence motion titled ‘The IDF’s decision to bury the Segev Committee report requiring equality between men and women’ was defeated 30-49 with 41 MKs not present.

Second of all one can see here that there were some important bills to vote on and one was a Tax Bill. Unlike in the U.S. where Republican politicians are holding the economy country hostage to their claims of cutting taxes on the Rich, the Israelis (even the right to a small degree is getting somethings partially right). Though this does not in my opinion go far enough - it's a good start:

Funds Committee Chairman Gafni (U.T.J.) explained the amendment would raise the corporate tax by 1% to 25%. It would also lower income tax in the NIS 8,000 – 14,000 per month bracket by 2%, raise the negative income tax on women by 50%, raise men’s bonus points by two for children under the age of 3, and raise the senior citizens’ interest tax exemption from NIS 9,000 to NIS 13,000 per month for an individual and up to NIS 16,000 for a couple. In addition, the amendment would grant the authorization and transfer of property of secondhand homes to the buyer after the tax authority receives a portion of the purchase tax- NIS 7,500 for apartments built after 2001 and NIS 15,000 for apartments built before.  The amendment would also lower interest rates on mortgages of under NIS 220,000 by 1% only for 2012. He stated the bill will help the middle class at the expense of the rich elite and the bill will assist families in buying their homes.

Our third note comes also from Jeremy's Knesset blog. Please note the comments of the N.U. and Hadash representatives. These are the extremes that are gaining footholds within their respective (Palestinian and Israeli) polities. Of course it should be noted that these folks still do represent the extremes and that in next eleceions right now they do not poll particularly highly (with the exception of Yisrael Betainu). Here it is in full:

Amendment to the Museums Bill

MK Ariel (N.U.) explained the amendment would apply the museum bill to Judea and Samaria. He noted four museums that would now be able to receive government funding like other Israeli museums. He asked why 400,000 Judea and Samaria residents have taxation without representation as unequal citizens under Israeli law. He expressed hope that this will be the first step in righting that wrong.

MK Molla  (Kadima) announced that Kadima had decided to allow every MK to vote according to their belief on this bill. He expressed his view that Israel should end the occupation and that he will support this bill until the residents of Judea and Samaria return to Israel’s pre-1967 borders.

MK Barakeh (Hadash) called this bill a win to the land grabbers, hilltop youth and price taggers. He called on the government to fund a Palestinian museum on the occupation and settler violence. He said that the settlers are not citizens and therefore do not deserve rights. He stated his belief that the settlements are temporary.

MK Swaid (Hadash) said that this bill is meant to annex Judea and Samaria into Israel. He said the land is occupied and can’t be annexed. He said this bill is parallel to the construction of a museum of tolerance over a Muslim cemetery. He asked if Israel wants to annex the King Solomon borders and rule over the whole Middle East.

MK Khenin (Hadash) said this bill teaches us that Israel is still trying to play the Zionist game of the 1940s. He said that the world will never accept the occupation and that Israel will eventually give up on ruling over the Palestinians.

MK El-Sana (R.T.) accused Netanyahu for supporting a two state solution of Israel and a second country for the settlers of Judea and Samaria, leaving nothing for the occupied Palestinians. He said that the Jews have no historical or geographic claim to Israel. He said as the decedents of Abraham the Palestinians deserve at least 50% of historic Palestine.

MK Zahalka (Balad) stated there is a normalization of the occupation and that is the reason this bill doesn’t receive press coverage. He called the bill a violation of international law. He called Israel a criminal nation.

MK Eichler (U.T.J.) supported the bill and praised it. He slammed the Muslims for denying the Jewish state of Israel and the Supreme Court for accepting many of these ridiculous Muslim claims.

MK Ben Ari (N.U.) rejected the Palestinian claims that they are Jebozites, noting that they were idol worshipers, not Arabs or Abrahamites. He praised the bill.

MK Rotem (Y.B.) noted that there was never any Palestinian state and that Israel conquered Judea and Samaria from Jordan. He said that the U.N. partition plan called for a Jewish land and an Arab land, and both were created- Israel and Jordan. He stated that the Palestinian people are a new invention, their land is not occupied and the bill is not a violation of international law. He praised the bill.

The bill passed its first reading 19-3 and was sent to the Culture Committee.

Our next story comes from Maan News where despite claims of progress to a "unity government" Eight of the smaller Palestinian factions walked out when told they could not participate because they were not part of the PLO. Apparently, the so-called "democratic movement" representing the Palestinians is not very democratic at all.

GAZA CITY (Ma’an) -- A member of the Hamas political bureau said Tuesday that attendees at a meeting to discuss reconciliation postponed the decisive issue of PLO membership until later in the week.

Izzat al-Risheq said “elections dates were discussed and agreed on forming a central elections committee. The committee is formed from one delegate from each party and they will meet tonight”.

Risheq's comments came after eight factions walked out of a meeting meant to represent all parties after being told they could not participate because they were not part of the PLO
.....

The Popular Resistance Movement, the Popular Resistance Committees, the al-Ahrar Movement, Fatah al-Intifada, as-Saiqa and the Popular Struggle Front were excluded, sources at the talks said.

“The insistence by Fatah to exclude eight Palestinian factions from reconciliation dialogue ... casts doubt upon Fatah’s attitude to reconciliation," a statement from the PRM said.

"Such an attitude only maintains a state of disagreement."


Now it also should be mentioned that in Lebanon yesterday some of the smaller factions traded gunfire with Fateh affiliated people in a Palestinian refugee camp. It will be interesting to see how the autocratic nature of the PLO deals with political challenges from outside of it's ranks. Even more interesting to see how those moves will affect any potential peace with Israel.

For our next story we have some news coming from Israel and the Prime Ministers office regarding recent Price Tag attacks where PM Netanyahu just called Price tag attacks a "stain on the State":

"If you take the whitest shirt and slap it with a single stain, then the whole shirt is stained. This incident stains the State of Israel as a law abiding nation," he said. "We must join forces against this extremist phenomenon and erase this stain.

Netanyahu denounced "price tag" acts, saying "we cannot accept vandalism of mosques or harming police officers, soldiers or innocent people. This can happen, but if it does, we must act with full authority against the perpetrators."

Interestingly enough apparently though some Right Wing critics don't call the acts of physical attacks with stones (unless Palestinians do it), or defacing Holy Sites and other "price tag" attacks terror. The Israeli Government and Military does. Who knew they were not as strong defenders of Israel as the keyboard commando's here in the states (just kidding - I knew that). Here is Defense Minister Barak speaking to that:

"Some 99.9% of settlers are law abiding people. We must protect them and the Palestinians that are under our control," he said.


Answering to reporters' questions, Barak said he considered the incident an act of terror. "This transgression in my opinion is self-made terrorism and our duty is to do everything we can to stop it, including emergency regulations and punishments."

Now when the government actually does something about stopping settlers from burning down Olive fields and throwing stones at Palestinians in the same manner that they crack down on Palestinian Stone throwers then I will give more creedence to their words. However, this is a start. Perhaps the government is seeing the hydra that it is releasing when it refuses to deal with the settlers when they attack the Palestinians. Even IDF soldiers in the Territories comment on this.

In a related story our final piece is regarding Quartet condemnation of Israeli housing in the West Bank and East J'slem. Haaretz is reporting that European members of Security Council condemn Israeli settlements, settler violence. Yep, pissing off the UNSC particularly when the P.A. is moving in the U.N. is really not helpful to the Israeli cause.

"We call on the Israeli government to reverse these steps," the statement said. "The viability of the Palestinian state that we want to see and the two-state solution that is essential for Israel's long-term security are threatened by the systematic and deliberate expansion of settlements."

The statement, issued following the 15-country Security Council's closed-door discussion on the situation in the Middle East, condemned Israeli settlers' violence against the Palestinians, including the burning of the Nebi Akasha mosque in West Jerusalem and the Burqa mosque in the West Bank.

It called on Israeli leaders to boldly demonstrate political will and leadership to break the impasse in negotiations with the Palestinians. It called on both Israelis and Palestinians to agree on a package of proposals to settle security and border issues in order to advance negotiations toward ending the conflict.

The four countries reiterated support for the creation of a "sovereign, independent, democratic, contiguous and viable Palestinian state living in peace and security side by side with Israel."

Ron Prosser, the Israeli Ambassador responded to the statement by the UNSC. by saying: "HEY... LOOK OVER THERE!" (/snark - I couldn't help it)... Prosser did make some comments that did make sense in that the UN does turn a blind eye to many of the injustices in the world and does hold Israel to a higher standard than anyone else. At the same time... simply put. The UNSC is not wrong here. Settler violence is a problem. No amount of saying "SQUIRREL" (reference to the movie "Up") is really going to make a difference. As to the settlements, they do stand in the way of a peace deal. If Israel won't put out a "map" then how can anyone tell what they are doing. Either they want to annex the West Bank or not. If not, why continue building?

Anyway please discuss.

Shalom and Happy Chanukah!

7 comments:

  1. In this instance, Prosser's claims have some merit. Yes, settler violence is a problem, but there is a rush from the UN to condemn that while they say nothing of the barrage of rockets on the civilians of Sderot and Ashkelon and Be'er Sheva and of the recent rockets fired into the Galilee. Any statements from the UN are tainted by this lack of credibility.

    As for my view on building in the Territories, I take a more nuanced view. The outposts and settlements well beyond the Green Line should have a freeze. In those areas that will remain Israeli in a final deal, including Jewish neighborhoods in eastern Jerusalem, I oppose a settlement freeze. It is not about ideology, but about common sense. Furthermore, I would have liked to see a call for both sides to return to negotiations in that statement, rather than a blanket condemnation of the Israelis.

    Finally, is there any other country in the Middle East where people would be able to so freely attack the government and call into question the very legitimacy of the state as the nation-state of the Jewish People and the ancestral homeland of the Jewish People? Yes, israel is not perfect, and some of the laws being proposed are absolutely atrocious, but it is still a democracy. Unlike some, I'm not even close to giving up on it.

    Happy Hanukkah and Go Obama!

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  2. As I said, Prossers comments do have some merit but not in this context. He needs to make those statements independent of this vote. I mean he is totally correct in his calling out the U.N. for their hypocrisy. BUT... he is using that as a distraction to what is a critical issue.

    I am not sure where the "I am not going to give up on Israel" statement comes from. No one is asking you too. Again, I do think we have to be honest though in our efforts to improve. I think we owe that to ourselves. I mean is the UN wrong here? I don't think so.

    As for building in E. J'slem, how do we know what area's Israel wants to keep. There is no map and the municipality continues to expand. I believe Israel should put out a map. At least then we all know what we are talking about.

    Happy Chanukah to you as well.

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  3. I think it is simplistic to use Barak's public comments as proof positive on all matters when, first of all, he seems to be speaking about Iran.

    I mean, does anyone really expect him, in a public forum, to say anything besides what he did?

    Nor is it just a right ring meme that Obama's support of the Israeli narrative is tepid. To dismiss it as such reflects an inability to appreciate this is not a zero sum game.

    The rest of the entry was a bit more than I had time to swallow, and I suggest excerpts and links in the future. At a glance, it seems to show from my glancing that Israeli democracy is far from threatened. It may actually be the most vibrant democracy on the planet, even as the state is under threats like no other.

    Though many think he is right wing because he unabashedly stands for human rights for ALL, including that of Jews, Alan Dershowitz issues the appropriate challenge, so far as I am concerned:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_y0I6rBrXnM&feature=player_embedded

    I suggest there is not enough putting to rest some left wing memes either.

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  4. The President's actions, including his increase in aid and increase in cooperation do speak louder than words, along with his strident defense of Israel at the United Nations. It's time to look at reality and the reality of the President's record, and it's a damn good one.

    As for building in eastern Jerusalem, I favor maintaining the status quo, thus build housing for Jews in Jewish neighborhoods and housing for Arabs in Arab neighborhoods and don't expand either of them into the areas of the other. This is reflective of what is most likely to happen in a final agreement

    And with respect to Prosser, yes, it is a bit of "Hey! Look over there!" but that is what happens when the attacking entity itself lacks credibility. It is legitimate to point out the one-sided nature of the UN's condemnations as an attack on the moral authority of the United Nations, which, in this instance, is a near complete lack of such authority. As with Ron Paul on the Iraq war, this is an instance where the messenger is tainted, and, thus, it is legitimate to call out the messenger without getting to the substance of the message.

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  5. As for Baraks comments... they are clear - they simply reinforce what he has said time and time about this administration. You can choose to put your fingers in your ears and say "LALALALA I can't hear you" but that doesn't make the message any less true.

    And yes, in a public forum he could simply not have said anything. But, he didn't. I know that it is inconvenient to have the Israeli Defense Minister wreck the meme, but sorry, there it is.

    And it is just a right wing meme to say the President is tepid on Israel. This President is an OUTSTANDING supporter of Israel. His actions speak for themselves.

    As for Israeli Democracy, The leaders of Kadima, and Labor parties not too mention Meretz, Ram Tal, Balad and Hadash all disagree with you. Whether you like them or not... they are Israelis. Even the PM disagrees with you to a degree, why do you think he trashed some of the Rightist bills. The fact of the matter is that while Israel is currently a vibant democracy, that demcocracy is under attack from the Rightists.

    As for "Dersh"... this comment: Though many think he is right wing because he unabashedly stands for human rights for ALL is kind of laughable. No one thinks he is a Rightist on Israel because he stands for Human Rights for all. I for one think he is a rightist for his views on Israeli dissent and his support of Im Tirzu in their horrid campaign for political purity.

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  6. The difference is that I do not have my fingers in my ears, just that I do not believe that what we see in the theater is necessarily what takes place behind the set.

    Once more, even if Obama did not like Israel, and I suggest he does not accept the Jewish narrative so much as others seem to believe, he is constrained because of the American consensus and the strategic issues that override personal feelings.

    As for democracy, the fact that most of these attempts to destroy Israeli democracy it go nowhere, shows that the democracy is strong. I suggest that there is a fair amount of politics on both sides of these issues, just like between Democrats and Republicans. Imagine that!

    For example, we hear people claim that that America is a police state? Is it? Is Israel really on the road to autocracy?

    In other words, the arguments presented are way too black and white. And I am not the one trying to make it so, but instead trying to say it is a mistake to look the other way like one has all the answers.

    Dershowitz has done more for human rights and Jews than everyone here and on Daily Kos and many other places where they also laugh at him, combined. When people summarily dismiss him, here and elsewhere, rather than hearing what he says, based on his intelligence and experience on the front lines fighting abusers, does that therefore make them liberal per se? Does that invalidate his every idea on the matter, so that we can learn nothing from him? If so, I disagree. Which is why I think his challenge is worthwhile.

    For example, he went to Norway, an epicenter of anti-Israelism, and confronted the bias and antisemitism in that society. He is unafraid to confront abusers and to beat them. He resonates with many Jews and not all of them are "right wing."

    Anyway, I think the more we can hear other views, the better.

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  7. I like Dersh. I know he was blasted on the left when he wrote that he supported torture in limited circumstances (ticking bomb types) and I disagree with him on that but his record really speaks for itself.

    He's done so much work for civil rights issues, took on many pro bono death penalty appeals. He's a strong, unabashed supporter of Israel and that's the only issue the far left sees.

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