Free Republic

The New York Times recently editorialized on The Settlements Issue The last American president to openly challenge Israel on settlements was George H.W. Bush and we commend President Obama for demanding that Israel halt all new construction. The controversy must not obscure Mr. Obama’s real goal: nudging Israel and the Palestinians into serious peace negotiations. Apparently the NYT is preparing the ground for Obama to back away from his absolutist demands and claim victory when negotiations start. I disagree. Had Obama never attempted to bring down the Netanyahu government by using settlements as a wedge issue, negotiations would have had...

Mitchell, Gates, Ross and a whole US team are in discussions for the sought-after freeze among other things.One Israeli diplomat commented on Israel's position, "The Americans now understand that if they get anything from us on the settlement issue, it will only be in the broader context of some kind of Arab return," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared to confirm this in a policy speech two days after Obama's White House meeting with the Jewish representatives. "Progress toward peace cannot be the responsibility of the United States - or Israel - alone," Clinton told the Council on Foreign Relations....

Jeffrey Goldberg has posted an interview with Jeremy Ben-Ami of J Street, who participated in the meeting of Jewish organizations with President Obama on Monday. Ben-Ami says that in the meeting, some suggested Obama had been one-sided in his demands on Israel, but that the president had an effective response: [T]he president really again pushed back, very calmly but firmly, and said no, that he has on every occasion, where he has spoken out publicly, and where the [U.S.] government has taken a position, made it clear that there are obligations and steps that must be taken by Israel, and...

There is only one difference between Hamas the terrorist group that control's Gaza and Fatah, the terrorist group perceived as moderate by the United States Fatah controls Judea and Samaria. Hamas is open about it terrorist goals, Fatah (the party that is controlled by Palestinian President Abbas) tries to maintain a shroud of "moderation" Of course their moderation belies the truth. Both President Bush and President Obama have worked to "prop up" Abbas and the Fatah Party, former Prime Minister Ehud (Mr. Comb-Over) Olmert also worked to "prop up" the terrorist leader. In doing so, they all ignored the continued...

As Obama and Netanyahu prepare to have their first meeting in office (though not their first meeting), historical analogies are flying. Martin van Creveld, the eccentric Israeli military historian, thinks that Barack Obama should emulate Jimmy Carter (”the president who did most for Israel”) in his approach to the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. His reasoning:

Hey Kristof... You're Late! Posted in: Gerald A. Honigman By Gerald A. Honigman Monday, March 23, 2009 While The New York Times' Nicholas Kristof is no stranger to these positions throughout the year, he frequently comes out with his gems of Middle East wisdom right around Bike Week here in Daytona Beach, Florida, when tens of thousands of Harley enthusiasts arrive to also spread their hot air exhaust around town. This year Nick was a few weeks late. Like others of his ilk--Thomas Friedman (better of late), David Ignatius, Richard Cohen, just to name a few, who are also obsessed...

Pope Benedict XVI Monday joined the international chorus that is demanding the Jews establish an Arab state on Israel's land. The head of the Roman Catholic Church aired his plea within minutes of arriving at Ben Gurion Airport at the start of a five-day visit to "the Holy Land." Speaking in front of Israeli President Shimon Peres - who had just warmly welcomed him with the Hebrew words, "Blessed is he who comes" - and as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looked on, the pope called on "all those responsible to explore every possible avenue in the search for a just...

He's only been in the job for a month, but already the foreign minister is fed up with the 'slogans' he keeps hearing from his international counterparts: occupation, settlements, land-for-peace, two-state solutions... His favored key words? Security (for Israel). A stronger economy (for the Palestinians). And stability (for all). Bringing peace to our region is more complex than sloganeering would allow, he tells The Jerusalem Post in this interview, his first with an Israeli newspaper. And it's time we all faced up to the inconvenient reality. Last Thursday, just a few hours after The Jerusalem Post completed this interview with...

The Netanyahu government is looking good to me. First, Netanyahu studiously avoided giving anything away upfront to the consternation of the EU and Livni. He offered negotiations on "three parallel tracks, economic, security and diplomatic" with the Palestinian Authority. As the NYT put it Netanyahu Offers Conciliation, but Not Concessions His sole position on the peace process was that he would abide by all signed agreements. As Minister Lieberman made forcefully clear today, that didn't include Annapolis. The International community was dying to make discussions under Annapolis binding on Israel but the Netanyahu government would have none of it and...

Yesterday New Israeli foreign minister,Avigdor Liberman, took his oath of office and laid out his agenda. Most of the media got so upset by his words that they practically went into cardiac shock. The fact is that Liberman did not speak words of war, or conflict, he spoke words of truth:

Over the weekend the European Union sent a strong warning if not, a threatening ultimatum to Israel just before they entered the Sabbath Day. Israel’s incoming Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu had better embrace and pursue the “two-state-solution” being promoted by the rest of the world or face the displeasure of the European Union. Karel Schwarzenberg, foreign minister of the Czech Republic which currently holds the rotating EU presidency, said that if the new Israeli government does not commit itself to establishing a Palestinian state, "relations would become very difficult indeed."

In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the U.S., Saudi Arabia was under intense scrutiny since 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis. In Feb. 2002, Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia proposed to Israel "full withdrawal" from the territories in return for "full normalization." In a flash, Abdullah transformed the discourse from Saudi involvement in terrorism to Saudi peacemaking. However, by the time the Abdullah trial balloon reached the Arab summit in Beirut in March 2002, the initiative had been modified and its terms hardened. It watered down "full normalization," rewarded Syria with a presence on the...

“That whole philosophy of persistence,” he said, “is one that I’m going to be emphasizing again and again in the months and years to come as long as I’m in this office. I’m a big believer in persistence.” Persistence! Persistence! Without our persistence, we’d be as shaky as...as...as a lunatic on the roof. Again we have a piece process. Again negotiate. Again lean on the Israelis, different outcome to await. Persistence! And who must build the bombs, and strap them on his waist, then go blow up a disco, where girls all act unchaste? The Palis! The Palis! Persistence! And...

Days before the expected end of his premiership, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert blasted the Palestinian leadership for lacking the courage to make peace with Israel. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert during Sunday's cabinet meeting. Photo: Ariel Jerozolimski SLIDESHOW: Israel & Region | World "I have held contacts with the head of the Palestinian Authority," the prime minister said at Sunday's cabinet meeting. "I have no doubt that these contacts have formed conditions conducive to signing a peace agreement." "I said it in the past and I do not hesitate to repeat it: The State of Israel will have to make unprecedented...

Egyptian cleric: The Jews "are enemies not because they occupied Palestine. They would have been enemies even if they did not occupy a thing." [March 6, 2009 ] They keep telling us that it isn't about "stolen land," and that land concessions and even the creation of a Palestinian state will not end the conflict. And we keep refusing to believe it."Egyptian Cleric Muhammad Hussein Ya’qoub: The Jews Are the Enemies of Muslims Regardless of the Occupation of Palestine," from MEMRI TV, January 17 (just posted), with thanks to Sr. Soph:Following are excerpts from a speech delivered by Egyptian...

Israel must decide whether to attack Iran or not and whether to accept the Saudi Plan or not. In both cases Israel has to pick her poison. The Iranian threatIsrael has already decided to attack Iran with the intention of setting back the nuclear program by a few years. Likud, Kadima and Labour seem to be in agreement. Such an attack will be very difficult, giving the distance to Iran and the lack of any agreement to traverse anyone’s airspace. Israel originally hoped to get American approval to fly through Iraq’s air space. But now that the US has signed...

Barack Obama said yesterday his administration will be "immediately engaged in the Middle East peace process as a whole." He is "determined to try to break a deadlock that has gone on for decades now," and believes "if you look not just at the Bush administration, but also what happened under the Clinton administration, you are seeing the general outlines of an approach." The common experience of the two prior administrations actually teaches a different lesson. In both cases, an American president -- one Democratic, the other Republican -- engaged in an extraordinary multi-year effort to create a Palestinian state...

Judea and Samaria activist Yechiel Leiter is promoting a plan that calls for immediate steps that will lead to the annexation of some 50% of Judea and Samaria. “There are those who fear talking about annexing 50%, because that means giving up the other 50%,” he told. Manighut Yehudit is one of those opposed. I'm with Leitner. In fact, three years ago, I recommended that Israel Divide and Conquer The US is seeking to divide and conquer by isolating Hamas in Gaza and reinforcing Fatah in Ramallah. I go one better. I propose that Israel erect a fence around Area...

Poll: Only 19% of Americans say Israeli-Palestinian peace should top Obama’s priorities For complete poll results: Which TWO of the following should be the top foreign policy priority for the next president? Is it… 57% Ending the war in Iraq 42% Defeating Al Qaeda and the Taliban 42% Restoring global economic growth 19% Bringing peace between Israel and the Palestinians 16% Dealing with the instability of Pakistan 11% Meeting the threat of Putin’s Russia Now, on another subject… Thinking about the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in the Middle East, please tell me whether, in general, you...

The seventies were witness to the Munich Massacre of Israeli Olympic athletes, the Yom Kippur War, the oil embargo, the PLO terrorist attacks on international airlines and airports, and finally the appearance of gun-toting Yasser Arafat before the General Assembly of the United Nations. Bat Yeor studied this decade and set out her thesis of what was going on in Europe vis a vis the Arabs in her ground-breaking book Eurabia. Prof Paul Eidelberg summarized what it meant for Israel. 1) European policy would be independent from, and opposed to that of the United States; 2) recognition by Europe of...