Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Netanyahu to AIPAC: "Israel can't return to 1967 lines" Abbas: "PA not trying to isolate Israel"




Netanyahu at AIPAC (REUTERS)
 
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the keynote speech at AIPAC's policy conference in Washington DC on Monday evening, receiving many standing ovations as he declared that any agreement "must leave Israel with security, and therefore Israel cannot return to the indefensible 1967 lines."

"Support for Israel doesn't divide America, Netanyahu said, "It unites America."


The event at AIPAC was the penultimate speech during Netanyahu's crowded schedule for his Washington trip, before his grand finale before the US Congress Tuesday evening during which he is expected to explain his proposals for a peace deal with the Palestinians. More than half of the sitting members of Congress were in the 10,000 seat convention hall Monday night, along with a few hecklers who were escorted out by security guards.

Netanyahu's speech came after strong pro-Israel speeches from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Democrat) and Speaker of the House John Boehner (Republican).

Meanwhile, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told reporters on Monday that he is working to build a government composed of technocrats and not a joint Fatah-Hamas cabinet as many in the West fear.

"The Israelis, and sometimes the Americans, have misunderstood the upcoming government," Abbas said. "They mistakenly think that it's a Hamas government. This is not a Hamas or Fatah government."

Abbas recently defended Hamas, saying it was simply a normal, democratic opposition party within Palestinian society. He also denied that the PA was attempting to isolate Israel by seeking recognition for a Palestinian State at the UN in September.

In related news, a PA spokesman announced on Monday that Prime Minister Salam Fayyad is in stable condition after suffering a mild heart attack while on a visit to Austin Texas, where his son is graduating from University. Egyptian daily Al-Ahram  reported on Wednesday that Fayyad will not retain his government position in the forthcoming transitional Palestinian unity government.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov welcomed representatives from Fatah and Hamas to a meeting in Moscow, telling them how happy the Russian government is with the unity government deal that Israel has denounced and US President Barack Obama recently called an "enormous obstacle" to Middle East peace.

Terrorists demand more from Israel.


We are learning what happens when we try to appease terrorists.

President Obama repeatedly used the words of the terrorist group, Hamas, when he called Israel's legitimate and peaceful settlements in the West Bank an "occupation." And his call for a return to the 1967 borders is a policy that would divide Jerusalem, give terrorists control of some of the world's most holy landmarks, and shatter Israel's ability to defend itself.

Hamas' response to President Obama's rebuke of the Israeli people is to demand even more. The terrorist group is now calling for a return to "the 1948 borders" - the extermination of the Israeli state.

Since President Obama will not support Israel, we must stand up for the Israeli people and defend their right to exist.

Never has there been a more dangerous time for Israel than now -- when the U.S. government supports the terrorists over the security of Israel.

The President has refused to back away from his speech to the Muslim world in which he called on Israel to give up its security and negotiate with the terrorist-led Palestinian government. In a speech to a pro-Israel group, he continued to demand that the "borders of Israel and Palestine should be based on the 1967 lines" as a starting point for negotiations.

Forcing Israel to give up its security by accepting these indefensible borders - a worst-case scenario for Israel that requires divided control of Jerusalem - as the starting point for negotiations is absurd.

If Israel were to accept the 1967 borders, it would be only nine miles wide at one point - a security nightmare for any country, much less one bordering people who want Israel destroyed. As Congressman Allen West stated, such a compromise "could be the beginning of the end as we know it for the Jewish state."

The President's position plays directly into the terrorists' hands. Hamas' number one goal is the extermination of Israel and the Israeli people. Even as President Obama urged Israel to make dangerous concessions and to negotiate with the terrorists, a Hamas spokesman reiterated the terrorist group's intractable position that the United States and President Obama "will continue to fail in its attempt to convince Hamas to recognize the Israeli occupation."

We must not allow President Obama's flawed strategy for a Palestinian state to become the U.S. policy that leads to the destruction of Israel.
It is crucial that we continue this legislative and legal defense of our greatest ally in the Middle East region, as America's national security interests are inextricably tied to the fate of Israel. U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said it best: "If Israel goes, we all go."

Friday, May 20, 2011

Obama insta a Israel a volver a las fronteras del 67, reacción de Netanyahu En su esperado discurso de ayer, el Presidente norteamericano Barack Obama instó a Israel a que vuelva a las fronteras de 1967 y entregando Judea y Samaria a los palestinos.

En su esperado discurso de ayer, el Presidente norteamericano Barack Obama instó a Israel a que vuelva a las fronteras de 1967 y entregando Judea y Samaria a los palestinos.
El discurso de Obama fue muy esperado durante días ya que se dijo formularía la política norteamericana respecto al Medio Oriente.
Obama habló de los cambios que se suceden en Medio Oriente y también dijo apoyar la idea de la creación de un estado palestino viviendo junto a Israel “en paz y seguridad”.
La reacción del Primer Ministro israelí Binyamin Netanyahu no se hizo esperar y a través de sus asesores se mostró molesto por la postura de Obama y dijo que la administración norteamericana no entiende la realidad de Medio Oriente ya que las fronteras de 1967 “son indefendibles”.
Netanyahu viaja rumbo a los Estados Unidos donde se espera hará un discurso en el Congreso y se encontrará con el Presidente Obama a quién le presentará sus objeciones a los planes norteamericanos por lo que aumentarían las tensiones entre ambos gobiernos.
Las críticas más duras contra Obama de parte de Israel fueron su comparación entre la postura israelí y la palestina al trazar un paralelismo entre ambos sufrimientos.
“El hábito del presidente de trazar una equivalencia moral entre las acciones de los palestinos y las de los israelíes culpándolos del conflicto, es dañino para la paz. La realidad es que desde su creación Israel siempre mostró hacer sacrificios necesarios para la paz, mientras que los palestinos en numerosas oportunidades han rechazado estas ofertas” dijo un asesor de Netanyahu.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Esperemos otra desgracia en Estados Unidos.

Prodding Israel, Obama embraces Palestine borders

WASHINGTON – Exasperated by stalled Middle East peace talks in a season of tumultuous change, President Barack Obama jolted close ally Israel Thursday by embracing the Palestinians' terms for drawing the borders of their new nation next door. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel rejected the idea as "indefensible" on the eve of his vital White House meeting with Obama.
The U.S. president said that an independent Palestine should be based on 1967 borders — before the Six Day War in which Israel occupied East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza — as adjusted by possible land swaps agreed upon by both sides. He said Israel can never live in true peace as a Jewish state if it insists on "permanent occupation."
Obama's effort to salvage a peace effort that is in shambles was a major change in tactics for a president running out of patience and reasons to be subtle. The Israeli-Palestinian stalemate has remained immune to the popular uprisings and historic drives for freedom that have swept much of the region.
He pushed both sides to accept his starting point — borders for Palestine, security for Israel — and get back to solving a deadlock "that has grinded on and on and on."
In a sweeping review of recent uprisings and authoritarian crackdowns across the Arab world, Obama was also unsparing in his words for the Palestinian leadership, repudiating its pursuit of unilateral statehood through the United Nations and questioning its alliance with a Hamas faction bent on Israel's destruction.
"At a time when the people of the Middle East and North Africa are casting off the burdens of the past, the drive for a lasting peace that ends the conflict and resolves all claims is more urgent than ever," Obama said, playing the rapid change of the past six months against a standoff that has stymied the Mideast for decades.
More broadly, before a polite diplomatic audience at the State Department, Obama sought to clarify the U.S. role toward a part of the world undergoing a transformation. He implored the American people to see that it is worth devoting U.S. might and money to help stabilize a dangerous region and help people fighting for freedom.
"There must be no doubt that the United States of America welcomes change that advances self-determination and opportunity," the president said. "Yes, there will be perils that accompany this moment of promise. But after decades of accepting the world as it is in the region, we have a chance to pursue the world as it should be."
It was Obama's explicit endorsement of the 1967 borders that changed the dynamic.
The U.S., the international community and even past Israeli governments have endorsed the idea of an agreement based on the 1967 lines, but Obama's new emphasis was a clear prodding for Israel to act.
The way Obama put it means the U.S. now accepts 1967 lines, with land swaps, as the basis for the borders of a Palestinian state — and not just that such a result would be the desired outcome of negotiations, as had been the U.S. stand.
The United States insists, too, that Israel end up with a safe, secure state without fear of attack from Palestinians.
In a cool statement released late Thursday in Jerusalem, Netanyahu rejected a full withdrawal from the West Bank, saying the 1967 lines would leave major Jewish settlements outside Israel. It was unclear whether Obama's stand would be enough to persuade the Palestinians to drop their push for U.N. recognition of their statehood.
In the run-up to the president's speech, the White House had sought to downplay the role of the Mideast peace standoff in his address, emphasizing instead other elements such as his proposed financial support for Egypt and Tunisia, two nations that have risen up and embraced democracy. But the address only served to underscore how central the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is to the stability of the whole region and the political interests of the United States
Obama sought to give perspective to a five-month period in which thousands have died in protests for human rights, two countries' leaders have been toppled, others are teetering, the U.S. has been drawn into an armed conflict in Libya and America has launched a stunning, successful mission to find and kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. The president tried to minimize bin Laden's reach even in death, saying his al-Qaida vision of destruction had already been deemed a "dead end" by those wanting a better life.
Moving country by country, Obama offered his toughest words yet for Syrian President Bashar Assad, in whom the U.S. has lost hope as a reformer given his government's bloody crackdown on dissidents. Obama did not call for Assad to step down but did accuse him of murdering his people. "The Syrian people have shown their courage in demanding a transition," Obama said. "President Assad now has a choice: He can lead that transition or get out of the way."
One 24-year-old Syrian said the U.S. president was too late.
"It's too bad hundreds of people died before he made the speech," said Mustafa, who fled the coastal town of Banias, which has seen some of the biggest protests in recent weeks, and who did not give his surname for fear of reprisals. "I think it's too late for Assad to lead a peaceful transition to democracy after all that happened."
In seizing his own Mideast moment, Obama offered a speech that was in some ways notable for what he did not mention.
While critical of autocracy throughout the Mideast, he failed to mention the region's largest, richest and arguably most repressive nation, U.S. ally Saudi Arabia. Nor did he mention Jordan, a staunch U.S. ally that has a peace deal with Israel. Also left out was the United Arab Emirates, the wealthy, pro-American collection of mini-states on the Persian Gulf.
On the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, he raised the question of Hamas but did not seek to answer it. A proposed unity Palestinian government would pair the Fatah-dominated administration in the West Bank and the Gaza-run Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. and seeks to destroy Israel.
"How can one negotiate with a party that has shown itself unwilling to recognize your right to exist?" Obama asked. "In the weeks and months to come, Palestinian leaders will have to provide a credible answer to that question."
Obama also conceded that borders were just a start. He had no blueprint for resolving enormous conflicts over the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.
And he gave little attention to Iran, where U.S. attempts at outreach have gone nowhere.
On Yemen, a key partner in the U.S. fight against al-Qaida, Obama called on President Ali Abdullah Saleh to keep his commitment to transfer power. On Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, Obama said the only way forward is dialogue between the government and opposition, "and you can't have a real dialogue when parts of the peaceful opposition are in jail."

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Obama en Jordania insiste con crear un estado palestino

Martes, 17 de mayo de 2011 | 20:48
El presidente norteamericano Barack Obama llegó a Jordania en su gira por Medio Oriente donde se reunió con el Rey Abdullah e instó a israelíes y palestinos a negociar para llegar a la paz a través de la creación de un estado palestino.
El presidente norteamericano Barack Obama llegó a Jordania en su gira por Medio Oriente donde se reunió con el Rey Abdullah e instó a israelíes y palestinos a negociar para llegar a la paz a través de la creación de un estado palestino.
Obama dijo que el punto de comienzo de las negociaciones debe ser la creación del estado palestino “viviendo lado al lado en paz y seguridad”.
Algunos medios en Israel dijeron que Obama buscará impulsar la creación de un estado palestino en las fronteras de 1967.
Israel y el Primer Ministro Netanyahu se niegan a la creación de un estado palestino tras el anuncio de la Autoriadad Palestina y su líder Mahmoud Abbas que aseguró que en Septiembre será declarado un estado.
Las negociaciones con Israel están en un punto muerto más aún tras el acuerdo logrado entre el Hamás y la Autoridad Palestina. Israel exige que para continuar las negociaciones los palestinos deben reconocer a Israel como el hogar del pueblo judío.

Friday, May 13, 2011

"When you come to the land that I am giving you..."

The Temple Institute's Weekly
Newsletter

"When you come to the land that I am giving you..."

(Leviticus 25:2)
Iyar 9, 5771/May 13, 2011

Today is Four and Twenty Days of the Counting of the Omer,
Three Weeks and Three Days



Osama bin Laden is dead. Obama is the victor. The same question is on everybody's lips: How will Barack Obama spend his newly gained political capital? What will he do with his increased popularity at home and America's increased respect abroad? Many here in Israel anticipate the same thing: With Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's upcoming visit to Washington and the Palestinian "threat" to unilaterally declare independence later this summer, President Barack Obama will be using his increased political clout to try to squeeze concessions out of Israel: Namely, to force Israel to turn over land to the two-headed terrorist Palestinian entity of Fatah and Hamas.
With or without Bin Laden, the name of the game remains the same: dissect and dismember the land of Israel. Our fearless enemies claim outright that the dividing of the land of Israel is merely step one in the ultimate aim to once and for all rid the land of Israel from the people of Israel, and our feckless "friends" claim that only this cruel violation of the land of Israel can save the people of Israel from their planned annihilation at the hands of their enemies.
So-called friends or unabashed enemies alike, the common underlying theme which animates all their "righteous" intentions is this: Their total disregard for the will of the G-d of Israel; their total contempt for the land of Israel.
This week's Torah reading of Behar, (Leviticus 25:1-26:2), in its entirely, deals with the land of Israel. As Israel prepares to enter into the land that G-d has promised them, they first must be taught the value of the land of Israel, their proper relationship with the land of Israel, and the land's relationship with G-d . It is really quite straightforward, but altogether unique in the world. The land belongs to G-d , Who has bequeathed it as an inheritance for Israel, in which they will dwell and in which they will build a house for God - the Holy Temple. Israel will plow the fields and reap the crops, drink from the rivers and springs, quarry the land's stones and build villages and cities. Israel will possess the land on G-d's behalf, but the land will remain always G-d's land.
And to insure that the people of Israel never fall into the false trap of thinking that the land of Israel belongs to them, G-d requires of Israel to make a covenant with the land, a covenant to which G-d will be the witness. This is the covenant of the Sabbatical year, the Shmitta year, and the Jubilee, (Yovel):
"When you come to the land that I am giving you, the land shall rest a Sabbath to HaShem. You may sow your field for six years, and for six years you may prune your vineyard, and gather in its produce, But in the seventh year, the land shall have a complete rest a Sabbath to HaShem; you shall not sow your field, nor shall you prune your vineyard." (Leviticus 25:2-4)
"And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and proclaim freedom throughout the land for all who live on it. It shall be a Jubilee for you, and you shall return, each man to his property, and you shall return, each man to his family." (ibid 25:10)
These verses speak for themselves: For the G-d fearing nation of Israel, the utterly foreign idea of dividing up the land of Israel and willfully handing over her beloved rocky hills and lush valleys to a sworn enemy is completely unthinkable. We would no sooner bisect the flesh of an infant whose maternity is in dispute. Israel's covenant with G-d and her covenant with the land which G-d has given Israel precede and preclude any plans or intentions proposed by man.
Our Torah reading makes clear the intrinsic connection between the Sabbatical and Jubilee year observances, and the upholding of social justice in the land of Israel. Indentured servants will be set free, debts will be forgiven and homesteads and fields will be returned to their original owners. Our Torah reading also makes clear the unassailable link between the keeping of our obligations to the land of Israel and our security in the land: "You shall perform My statutes, keep My ordinances and perform them then you will live on the land securely." (ibid 25:18) And our Torah reading makes vivid the connection between our respecting the sanctity of the land of Israel and the blessing of prosperity: "And the land will then yield its fruit and you will eat to satiety, and live upon it securely. And if you should say, 'What will we eat in the seventh year? We will not sow, and we will not gather in our produce!' Know then, that I will command My blessing for you in the sixth year, and it will yield produce for three years." (ibid 25:19-21)
Reams of paper have been produced filled with words written in vain; forests full of trees have been felled to produce these worthless international accords, all for the purpose, sincere or otherwise, of securing Israel's security, justice and prosperity. Rivers of blood have flowed. All for naught.
Later this summer, when Mr. Netanyahu meets Mr. Obama, he will be well advised to pocket his prepared speech to Congress, and abandon his proposed concessions to be made in the privacy of the Oval Office, and quote but these few words, "The land shall not be sold permanently, for the land belongs to Me, for you are strangers and temporary residents with Me. Therefore, throughout the land of your possession, you shall give redemption for the land." (ibid 25:23-24)