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| Obama and Netanyahu will be discussing return policies. |
Two heads of state, Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu will meet this afternoon. In his speech yesterday Mr. Obama supported an imminent Palestinian state and a divided Jerusalem. States, as you may know, have the right to bear arms, to aim missiles, to aim them wherever they want.
Thus Mr. Netanyahu reportedly wasn't happy with the speech, and neither am I.
Forget the rock throwing. It will be missile launches over the Western Wall.
Mr. Obama, people might remember, ran on a platform of an undivided Jerusalem. Israelis didn't trust him, not from what I read during that crucial election year, and the people in my velt didn't vote for him because they didn't trust him, either. And yesterday, as if to confirm their fears, he declared that Israel should return to the 1967 borders, return land that serves as a buffer, protects Israel from terrorist aggressors.
Return land! What is the return policy on most things?
How about returning 6 million lives?
Some of us remember the Six Day War, the one that secured what we think of as Israel today. In May of 1967, one hundred thousand Egyptians threatened Israel from the south and Iraqis poured into Jordan to the east. The Syrians, up north, did what they could to amass an army. Rather than wait for the inevitable, Israel began an offensive that lasted only six days.
We know who won. And now Mr. Obama wants Mr. Netanyahu to give it back, that land.
My suggestion is that Mr. Obama spend some time in Israel in a town near Gaza. Then talk about it some more.
2. Remembering the Holocaust
I don't usually post videos, don't even watch too many, but FD forwarded me this one and he tends to be right about this sort of thing. It's a touching kids story, an award-winning short. A little over three minutes. No regrets.
therapydoc
18 comments:
Thank you for posting this lovely video.
Thank you!! For this post and video.
I can relate to the frustration regarding Obama and Israel. I and many others feel similarly. Anger is not the word, more like disgust.
The video was touching, sort of, though I didn't completely get it. I'm not sure I like that sort of depiction... my sense was that the horror of the Shoa was so much greater than the neat tie up of this short film.
Thank you, TD. I am only 31, and I know I do not understand the full history in this situation. It makes me so sad, like the way my young children do not understand September 11th.
Of what I do understand, Obama is way out of line, here. That might be enough, I guess.
The video was lovely, too. Such kindness.
Obama was trying to stave off the biggest imminent disaster: the declaration of a Palestinian state by the U.N. Given Netanyahu's reaction today, I'd say a U.N. vote is now a foregone conclusion.
Negotiation inevitably involves some attempt to see the point of view of the other side. As true for international relations as it is for couples counseling.
Negotiation inevitably involves some attempt to see the point of view of the other side.
Explain that to Hamas whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel. Kind of a non starter for negotiations, don't you think.
Obama did not propose negotiating with Hamas. Indeed, indicated that they were a big part of the problem.
What he said about Hamas:
"For the Palestinians, efforts to delegitimize Israel will end in failure. Symbolic actions to isolate Israel at the United Nations in September won't create an independent state. Palestinian leaders will not achieve peace or prosperity if Hamas insists on a path of terror and rejection. And Palestinians will never realize their independence by denying the right of Israel to exist."
Thank you for speaking up.
The video is very touching.. Thanks for sharing..
Just to share, for those who are interested in geography:
Israel acquired the Golan Heights, a hilly terrain bordering Syria and Lebanon, in the Six Day War. As high ground, the heights protect the country from an attack from Arab neighbors. One can see all of Israel from the heights, and aim well, too, should aiming weapons be the objective.
Among the most beautiful places in the world, known for parks and vineyards established by the Jews, naturally, Israel acquired the Golan Heights in a defensive war in 1967. It is a haven for tourists who visit from all over the world to see what the Israelis have done with arid land, a land that values rain above all else. The land of milk and honey was not the land of milk and honey previous to independence from the British in 1948.
Turning the Golan Heights back to Syria would put Israel in a compromising position. But this is only one of many security risks, the Hamas agenda to destroy Israel not withstanding.
Dore Gold tells it all in today's Wall Street Journal, reiterating Prime Minister Netanyahu's words on the op-ed page. (His piece supplants Peggy Noonan's opinion, something we almost never see, unless she's on vacation. Hers is below.)
Israel's 1967 Borders Aren't Defensible
Finally, a word about economics-- the poppy crop in Syria is terrible this year.
yes,yes,yes...let Obama and family live there for a few months, and see if he changes his stance.
The Golan Heights are a side show and never going back to 1967. The problem is the West Bank where the swaps Obama discussed will come into play.
Obama is saying the same thing as Bush did and getting hammered for it. Why?
Bush NEVER said or used the terminology of 1967 borders.
Furthermore Obama wants no Israeli defense between Jordan and the Palestinians.
Think Syria and Hezvbollah in Lebanon!
The six million have nothing to do with Gaza. Or the borders that Israel might one day make with Palestine. The six million might have gotten a lot of people to Israel, and the memory of the six million might make us darn sure to keep Israel vibrant and healthy, but to hold the Shoa over the heads of people born into squalor and suffering the indignities of occupation is not moving the discussion forward.
Here's another video to watch, longer than 3 minutes. Check out "Precious Life," an award winning Israeli documentary by Shlomo Eldar, about a Gaza baby who got a life-saving bone marrow transplant in Israel, funding by an Israeli anonymous donor. It is available this month on demand on HBO.
Obama was saying nothing new. The last maps provided by Ehud Barak's government after their negotiations failed were based on the 1967 borders.
I don't know much about politics, but I do know that the strife in the middle east is due to a lack of connection and love, the kind depicted in this video. Somehow the politics and the heart of the matter need to get together. Even though I'm not educated in politics, it's pretty clear that this is not so easy. It's not easy to do the right thing for everyone involved, and it's not easy to deal with the profound complexities of a system that doesn't have the good of all as it's primary directive. May there be peace in Israel and Palestine, and may there be peace in all of our hearts, and may there be peace on this good earth.
I will miss you, even though I don't stop by on a daily basis, I think about you...
I hope you find the time to blog soon, and that we will see your words of encouragement, strength, weakness, insight, emotional content, remembrances, thoughts and religious questioning and perspectives sooner than later.
I miss you already....
xo
Lorri
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