Here's 'Palestinian Authority' foreign relations director Nabil Shaath telling Lebanese television that the 'Palestinian state' will be for Arabs only, while Israel will be for both Arabs and Jews, including 'refugees.'
FP: This has always been the Palestinian goal and the West is ensuring that they get it. Otherwise, why would it never ever raise the issue of right of return with the Palestinians?
Israel Matzav: Israel to Turkey: Double or nothing?
A report indicates that Israel has offered to pay $100,000 per dead terrorist in 'compensation' to Turkey - rather than the $50,000 demanded - in exchange for Turkey accepting a Israel's 'regrets' for the incident (Hat Tip: Joshua I).
‘‘Ankara demands apologies and compensation of $50 thousand to each of victims’ families. Israel, however, has another solution – Tel-Aviv will express its deepest regret in the place if apologies but will double the sum,’’ says Israeli ISRAland news portal.
According to Israel Info, Ankara still keeps silence, whereas unofficial sources say that the U.S. insists that the two sides come to an agreement by the time Palmer commission report is published.
Does anyone really believe this is about money? It's time to stop deluding ourselves (and for the Americans to stop deluding themselves) that there is any desire in Turkey to reinstate relations with Israel. I guarantee you that the next Turkish demand will be $100,000 per family plus an apology.
FP: This is stupid and disgusting. Israel invites abuse for absolutely no gain, just the opposite.Jackson Diehl: Will Abbas’s desperate gambit trigger a third intifada?
It’s not hard to imagine what could go wrong in a “third intifada.” The embattled dictatorships of Bashar al-Assad in Syria and Moammar Gaddafi in Libya could get a saving break as Arab attention focused on a new Israeli-Palestinian fight. Syria and Iran could promote new marches on Israel’s borders from the Golan Heights and Lebanon. Extremists in Egypt could use anger against Israel to whip up support in crucial elections scheduled for November. And so on.
The Obama administration, European governments and Israel’s right-wing government have been trying to come up with a diplomatic initiative that would give Abbas a reason to call off his plan: For example, a U.N. Security Council resolution that would lay out terms for Palestinian statehood and urge that negotiations resume. But the effort has been underpowered and for now seems unlikely to succeed — though some September brinkmanship can be expected.
If something stops Abbas, it will probably be Palestinians themselves. A recent poll showed that two-thirds of them oppose a third intifada, and only 14 percent said they would participate in one. If the world is lucky, the plan for a September explosion will turn out to be just another Palestinian dud.
FP: Note very carefully that the initiative is always the Palestinians and they blackmail the West for concessions. As to an intifada, forget the polls. Violence is inherent in Palestinian culture.The Obama administration, European governments and Israel’s right-wing government have been trying to come up with a diplomatic initiative that would give Abbas a reason to call off his plan: For example, a U.N. Security Council resolution that would lay out terms for Palestinian statehood and urge that negotiations resume. But the effort has been underpowered and for now seems unlikely to succeed — though some September brinkmanship can be expected.
If something stops Abbas, it will probably be Palestinians themselves. A recent poll showed that two-thirds of them oppose a third intifada, and only 14 percent said they would participate in one. If the world is lucky, the plan for a September explosion will turn out to be just another Palestinian dud.
Alex Joffe: Israel and the Antipodes
As that example illustrates, Jews are implicated in Islam's global crisis of modernity, which has crept into New Zealand's domestic affairs. In 2006, during the international crisis over the cartoons of Muhammad, 800 Muslims protested in Auckland and Clark called the decision by local newspapers to print the cartoons "gratuitous." Threats from Muslim countries to boycott New Zealand's meat and dairy products may also have contributed to her stance. In 2004 a judge permitted two Afghani women to testify in court with their identities masked with a full burqa. Recently, a visiting Muslim businessman has set up a branch of the "Obedient Wives Club," stating that "if a woman is told to wear a burqa or hijab so she does not tempt other men, then she should obey." Even though Muslims now account for only one percent of New Zealand's population, the country's media are prominently debating these cases and the larger question what it means to be a New Zealander in the 21st century.
What lessons may be learned from this debate, and from the controversy surrounding the death of Ofer Mizrahi? One lesson is that in many places—partly on the basis of past behavior—Israelis are perennial suspects, and conspiracy theories emerge quickly on the basis of scant or misleading information. But another lesson—one with much larger implications—is that New Zealand and other small states are increasingly being drawn by mass communication and immigration into the contemporary world. In that world of multicultural and security issues dominated by Islam, New Zealand is no longer at such a remove.
FP: Far away or not, New Zealand is part of the West and, therefore, of the PostWest too.
What lessons may be learned from this debate, and from the controversy surrounding the death of Ofer Mizrahi? One lesson is that in many places—partly on the basis of past behavior—Israelis are perennial suspects, and conspiracy theories emerge quickly on the basis of scant or misleading information. But another lesson—one with much larger implications—is that New Zealand and other small states are increasingly being drawn by mass communication and immigration into the contemporary world. In that world of multicultural and security issues dominated by Islam, New Zealand is no longer at such a remove.
No comments:
Post a Comment