End Netanyahu-hatred: Start advancing Israel's national interest

 

It is surely time for Netanyahu-haters — Naftali Bennet and Avigdor Liberman — to end their feuds with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by joining a national right-wing coalition Government —headed by Netanyahu — to advance Israel’s national interest in Judea and Samaria — with the backing of a comfortable parliamentary majority.

Three elections held on April 9 2019, September 7, 2019 and March 2, 2020 failed to achieve this objective — principally because Liberman’s hatred of Netanyahu saw him choosing to enter Opposition on all three occasions — and Bennett once — rather than joining Netanyahu’s Governments.

The financial cost of holding four elections in 2 years is estimated to be $4.24 billion — a massive waste of money.

This madness needs to end — as pundits ponder the possibility of a fifth election as the sun is still setting on the fourth — which at the time of writing does not appear to have given Netanyahu and his political allies the 61 votes needed to govern in their own right.

Liberman and Bennett — both leaders of right wing parties — with similar policies and politics to Netanyahu — need to pull their heads out of the sand and join a Netanyahu-led coalition to ensure no fifth election is going to happen.

Israel’s failure to act on President Trump’s Deal of the Century which would have seen the extension of Israeli sovereignty in about 30% of Judea and Samaria allocated to Israel — was a missed opportunity whilst Trump was President. However Trump’s plan still remains best the way forward — whether the Biden administration endorses it or not.

Netanyahu, Liberman and Bennet and the parties they head have a common shared interest in seeing this extension of Israeli sovereignty happen.

With the PLO having rejected Netanyahu’s offer of a demilitarised Arab State in Gaza, 70% of Judea and Samaria and additional areas of territory under Israeli sovereignty — the opportunity has now arisen for Israel to reserve this designated territory or part thereof for another Arab claimant — most likely Jordan.

Netanyahu articulated the Jordan solution when he told the United Nations on December 11, 1984: 

“Clearly, in Eastern and Western Palestine, there are only two peoples, the Arabs and the Jews. Just as clearly, there are only two states in that area, Jordan and Israel. The Arab State of Jordan… does not allow a single Jew to live there… It also contains 4/5 of the territory originally allocated by this body’s predecessor, the League of Nations, for the Jewish National Home. The other State, Israel … contains less than 1/5 of the territory originally allocated to the Jews under the Mandate…. It cannot be said, therefore, that the Arabs of Palestine are lacking a state of their own. The demand for a second Palestinian Arab State in Western Palestine, and a 22nd Arab State in the world, is merely the latest attempt to push Israel back into the hopelessly vulnerable armistice lines of 1949.”

Bennett’s opposition to an additional Arab State between Israel and Jordan was expressed in 2013:

“There is not going to be a Palestinian state within the tiny land of Israel. It’s just not going to happen. A Palestinian state would be a disaster for the next 200 years.”

Liberman’s support for a land-swap of Israeli Arab towns — including Umm al-Fahm — to a future Palestinian state — while Israel would keep major settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria — has been superseded by Trump’s proposals.

Liberman and Bennett — and possibly some defectors from other political parties — need to bury their hatchets and join a Netanyahu-led Government to advance the Trump blueprint and Israel’s national interest.


Author’s note: The cartoon—commissioned exclusively by the author —is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators – whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog.com

Netanyahu's feats merit his being Israel's next Prime Minister

 

If results count for anything - Bibi Netanyahu will again be Israel’s next Prime Minister—heading a Government which hopefully will be more stable than the three previous short-lived coalition Governments he formed after elections held in April 2019, September 2019, and March 2020.

Netanyahu has told voters:

“I pledged to take care of the citizens of Israel and I do so with a deep mission. I brought vaccines and four peace agreements, there are four more on the way,”

This is not the self-promoting rant of a desperate politician seeking re-election—but an accurate description of what Netanyahu has personally done to protect the health, safety and security of every Israeli citizen—Jew and Arab—irrespective of their political or religious beliefs.

Sigal Atzmon—founder and CEO of Medix Global – has lauded Israel’s successful vaccine program:

“Firstly, Israel’s vaccine program is the envy of the world. As of Mar. 14, 59.7% of the 9.3 million population had received at least one dose of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.

Secondly, the successful rollout means that Israel is confident enough to start reopening its economy again. Citizens who have had both shots, or who have recovered from COVID-19, are eligible to download an app developed by the Ministry of Health. This gives them a unique QR code, which lasts for six months. Scanning it gains citizens entry to gyms, theatres, restaurants and bars. It is also helping to encourage greater vaccine take-up.”

Pfizer’s Chief Executive Officer - Albert Bourla — revealed Netanyahu’s personal involvement in achieving this spectacular result in this Bloomberg article:

”Pfizer Inc. chose Israel for a nationwide Covid-19 vaccination study, supplying enough shots to quickly inoculate the entire eligible population, after dozens of phone calls from its prime minister, sometimes in the middle of the night.

The country’s relatively small size and electronic health records that cover more than 99% of residents were two important reasons for siting the study in Israel, Pfizer Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said in an interview late Thursday with Israel’s Channel 12 news. But what tipped the scales in Israel’s favor was Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s persistence, which Bourla termed an “obsession.”

“He called me 30 times,” Bourla said. “He would ask me about the variants, what data we have. And I would say, ‘Prime Minister, it’s three o’clock.’ And he said, ‘No, no, don’t worry, tell me.’ Or he would call me to ask about the children, ‘I need to vaccinate the schools.’ Or to ask about pregnant women. So he convinced me, frankly, that he would be on top of it.”

Netanyahu’s unique personal relationship forged with President Trump has seen:

• The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco establishing diplomatic relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords. 

• Kosovo - one of the few Muslim countries in Europe - establishing an embassy in Jerusalem. 

• The UAE announcing the setting up of a $10 billion fund to invest in Israel. 

• Israelis visiting Dubai in their tens of thousands

• Several more Arab countries reportedly on the brink of joining the Abraham Accords: Oman, Qatar and Mauritania. 

• Normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel beginning with Saudi Arabia granting overflight rights to Israel and allowing an Israeli racing team to participate in the Dakar Rally. 

• An offer of Gaza, 70% of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and areas of Israel’s sovereign territory being made to—but rejected by - the Palestine Liberation Organisation - for the creation of a second Arab State—in addition to Jordan—in the territory formerly comprised in the Mandate for Palestine.

Denigrators and detractors contesting Netanyahu’s re-election face an uphill battle.


Author’s note: The cartoon—commissioned exclusively by the author —is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators – whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog.com

 

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Israel Arab human rights group fuels Jew-hatred

 

Israeli-based Arab human rights organisation – B’Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories - is becoming politically involved in the unresolved 100-years conflict between Jews and Arabs over sovereignty in the territory formerly called Palestine.

The beneficiary of substantial international financial largesse – B’Tselem has adopted a belligerent political anti-Jewish stance.

In a recent Position Paper headlined: ”A regime of Jewish supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This is apartheid” – B’Tselem claims:

"More than 14 million people, roughly half of them Jews and the other half Palestinians, live between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea under a single rule … the entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River is organized under a single principle: advancing and cementing the supremacy of one group – Jews – over another – Palestinians… There is one regime governing the entire area and the people living in it, based on a single organizing principle."

There is no single rule – no Jewish supremacy - no apartheid.

B’Tselem’s claim is patently false - as the Oslo Accords clearly attest: Area A of the West Bank is totally ruled by the Palestine Liberation Organisation – which also exercises full administrative and shared security control over Area B of the West Bank – these areas totalling 40% of the West Bank and housing 95% of the West Bank Arab population.

Gaza is totally ruled by Hamas.

B’Tselem’s last published list of international donors in 2017 included:

Bread for the World: a non-partisan, Christian organization based in the United States advocating for policy changes to end hunger.

Catholic Relief Services: carrying out the commitment of the Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas.

Christian Aid Ireland: a partnership of people, churches and local organisations committed to ending poverty worldwide.

The Church of Scotland: seeking to inspire the people of Scotland and beyond with the Good News of Jesus Christ through enthusiastic worshipping, witnessing, nurturing and serving communities.

The United Church of Christ (UCC): a distinct and diverse community of Christians coming together as one church to join faith and action - with over 5,000 churches and nearly one million members across the U.S.

Dan Church Aid (DCA): a Danish humanitarian, not for profit organisation based in Copenhagen - established in 1922 with its roots in the Danish Evangelical-Lutheran Church serving as a central pillar of DCA’s constituency

The European Commission: playing an active role in developing the EU’s overall strategy and in designing and implementing EU policies.

The European Endowment for Democracy (EED): an independent, grant-making organisation, established in 2013 by the European Union (EU) and EU member states as an autonomous International Trust Fund to foster democracy

The Euro-Mediterranean Foundation of Support to Human Rights Defenders (EMHRF): an independent regional foundation established and registered as a Danish foundation in 2004 by EuroMed Rights, a network of more than 80 human rights organisations

UNDP: The United Nations development agency helping to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and exclusion, and build resilience so countries can sustain progress.

These organisations are perfectly entitled to continue donating their money to B’Tselem.

But foreign entities - funding 69% of donations to B’Tselem in 2019 - must also expect to be subjected to trenchant criticism - knowing their future donations will be used to stir up resentment against the Jewish People and its legal right to reconstitute the Jewish National Home in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and Gaza as authorised by the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine and article 80 of the United Nations Charter.

International donors funding Israeli-based Arab human rights organisations now need to tread very carefully.


Author’s note: The cartoon – commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”- one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators – whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog

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