Israel and the Middle East News Update
Friday, September 2
Headlines:
Israel Consul-General in NY: Settlements as Obstacle to Peace is ‘Nonsense’ IL High Court Issues Blunt Demand to Demolish Outpost Lieberman Desires to Find Agreed Solution for Sussia Israeli Satellite Lost During SpaceX Test Launch in Florida US Stalls Israel-Germany UAV Deal New Survey: Jews Favor Clinton over Trump, 52-23 % Israel Courts Foreign Money in Effort to Become Gas Exporter An Israeli and Palestinian win Student Oscars
Commentary: Yedioth Ahronoth: “Who's afraid of the Jewish state?” By Yoaz Hendel, a Columnist at Yedioth Ahronoth
Ha’aretz: “All You Centrist, Liberal Zionists: Netanyahu’s Destroyed Your Case for Ending the Occupation” By Larry Derfner, a copy editor at Ha’aretz
S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace 633 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20004 www.centerpeace.org ● Yoni Komorov, Editor ● David Abreu, Associate Editor
News Excerpts September 2, 2016 Jerusalem Post Dayan: Settlements as Obstacle to Peace is ‘Nonsense’ The Idea that Israeli construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem is the main obstacle to achieving peace with the Palestinians is “nonsense,” Israel’s new Consul-General in New York Dani Dayan told The Jerusalem Post in an interview this week. “It can be proven almost mathematically,” he added. “The Arabs did not recognize Israel before even one so-called settlement existed, that is a fact; Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, removing even the graves of our dead from there, and all we got is a launching pad for aggression against Israelis is also a fact that cannot be disputed.”
Times of Israel IL High Court Issues Blunt Demand to Demolish Outpost Ministers and settlement advocates on Thursday blasted a High Court ruling that ordered 17 buildings demolished in an illegal West Bank outpost south of Jerusalem. The court’s ruling attempts to bring to an end the 16-year saga of property disputes surrounding the Derech Ha’avot outpost, which straddles state and private lands near the Etzion Bloc settlement of Elazar and the Palestinian village of El-Khader. A decade and a half of court appeals by Palestinian residents of El-Khader and over a decade of repeated promises by the state to demolish structures found to have been built on private land led a three-justice panel Thursday to issue an abrupt demand that effectively ends the appeals process and orders the buildings demolished by March 2018. See also, “Israel’s High Court Orders Demolition of Homes in Outpost Built on Palestinian Land” (Ha’aretz)
Ha’aretz Lieberman Desires to Find Agreed Solution for Sussia Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Thursday that he was interested in finding an agreed upon solution concerning the impending demolition of the Palestinian village of Sussia in the West Bank's South Hebron Hills."At the end of the day, we are destined to live here with our neighbors, and therefore we seek a solution," Lieberman said on the first day of the school year on a visit to a junior high school in the Israeli settlement of Susya, located next to the Palestinian community Sussia."We really want to be good people and to respect the surroundings. We are therefore waiting for the decision of the Court. I assume that soon there will be a court decision and we will act accordingly." See also, “PA official calls on US to compel Israel to freeze settlements” (Jerusalem Post)
Reuters Israeli Satellite Lost During SpaceX Test Launch in Florida An explosion destroyed a Falcon 9 rocket belonging to Elon Musk's SpaceX during routine test firing at Cape Canaveral in Florida on Thursday, shaking buildings miles (km) away and sending a thick plume of black smoke pouring into the air. SpaceX said in a statement there were no injuries, but that an "anomaly" during the static fire test resulted in the loss of the rocket and the Israeli communications satellite it had been due to carry into space at the weekend. See also “Explosion rocks SpaceX launch site in Florida during test” (ABC Action News) 2
Ynet News US Stalls Israel-Germany UAV Deal Following the new security agreement between Israel and the US, which is estimated to cause considerable damage to Israel’s security industry, US defense contractor General Atomics is now looking to foil a substantial defense deal between Israel and Germany. Specifically, it is trying to block the Israeli Air Force from leasing the Heron TP unmanned air vehicle to Germany, worth around €560 million. Following the new security agreement between Israel and the US, which is estimated to cause considerable damage to Israel’s security industry, US defense contractor General Atomics is now looking to foil a substantial defense deal between Israel and Germany. Specifically, it is trying to block the Israeli Air Force from leasing the Heron TP unmanned air vehicle to Germany, worth around €560 million. See also, “Despite Israeli concerns, US set to OK fighter jet sales to Qatar, Kuwait” (Reuters)
Times of Israel New Survey: Jews Favor Clinton over Trump, 52-23 % Jewish voters favor Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump 52 to 23 percent, according to poll tracking by Gallup. The only religious group showing stronger favorability ratings for the Democratic nominee in data collected from July 1-Aug. 28 is Muslims, who favor Clinton over Trump 64 to 9 percent, according to the analysis posted Tuesday by Gallup. Jews tend to favor the Democratic nominee by 10-15 points more than the general population, and this polling is no different; Gallup’s latest general population favorability ratings, for the week Aug. 24-30, show Clinton at 39 percent and Trump at 33. Clinton also fares better than Trump among Catholics, 45-33, other non-Christian religions, 48-18 and atheist/agnostic, 44-19. See also: “ Protestant, Catholic Views of Clinton and Trump Not Monolithic” (Gallup)
New York Times Israel Courts Foreign Money in Effort to Become Gas Exporter Israel’s energy minister laid on the charm as he spoke to a few dozen oil executives, contractors and analysts in a crowded hotel conference room about the country’s natural gas prospects. He crowed that the country could one day be a top supplier to Europe, while explaining how multinationals in other industries were already enamored of Israel. “It is not enough to have a lot of potential,” said the minister, Yuval Steinitz, who was kicking off a road show for energy investors on Thursday at the Copthorne Tara Hotel in London. “From now on it is my job to make Israel very attractive for new exploration, for new investments, for newcomers.” Israel is courting international money as it tries to nurture a fledgling gas industry and evolve into an energy exporter
Ynet News An Israeli and Palestinian win Student Oscars An Israeli and a Palestinian-identified filmmaker have won the Student Academy Awards. The winners were announced earlier this week in anticipation of the Student Academy Awards ceremony that will take place on September 22 in Los Angeles. Maya Sarfaty, a student at Tel Aviv University, won the award for her documentary “the Most Beautiful Woman.” Ahmad Saleh, who was to a Palestinian family also won a Student Academy Award with his stop-animation film “Ayny – My Second Eye.” The movie details the dangers of war as seen through the eyes of two young boys. 3
Yediot Ahronoth– September 1, 2016 Who's Afraid of the Jewish State? Many Israelis support the demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state; but why aren't we demanding the same from our own government? The idea of a national home for the Jewish people is the founding principle of our country.
By Yoaz Hendel
Why did I stop demanding that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state? Mostly because it's a misdirection act. I am aware that many in Israel busy themselves with this demand – from Benjamin Netanyahu to Moshe Ya'alon, from Ari Shavit to my fellow Yedioth Ahronoth commentator Ben-Dror Yemini. I no longer do so since, after all this time, it seems to make no difference. I don't need to be convinced about the idea of a Jewish state. Without one, there is no Zionism. The word "democracy" was not the main thread holding the Israeli Declaration of Independence together – but the idea of a national home for the Jewish people. Democracy came later. Its values became sacred because we Jews don't know how to get along with each other, only with our national and religious identity. Looking back, it doesn't matter who first came up with the demand to recognize Israel as a Jewish state or why. The bottom line is that that demand is a basic condition for anyone who believes in peace accords. And this is why I don't support demanding this recognition of the Palestinians: I don't believe such accords are possible; not because I'm a fortune teller, or due to some biblical prophecy, but because of a cold assessment of the situation in our region. I should admit: I've never been an optimist when it comes to the Palestinians, but at this point I'm beyond even pessimism. As a researcher or bystander, I see before me a long-dead corpse, while eulogizers keep speaking of it as a living being. And here's the part that bothers me about the demand that this corpse we call "peace with the Palestinians": While they are told to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, Israel itself doesn't do so. Israel's definition as a Jewish state is an asset, but one that's kept in an airtight case, which no one is willing to take out and examine closely. Basic Law proposal: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People hasn't passed a Knesset vote, even though we have a right-wing government. Countless political arguments and loyalty pledges have been made, but still no one is dealing with this important bill. Why is it a good bill, I've been asked. Well, because it gives answers for important questions we dare not address. Questions like why the Law of Return exists, or why we oppose the unification of Palestinian families in Israel (it's not just due to security concerns), why we need national institutions that make sure lands stay in Jewish hands, and why the Knesset and the court system only conduct business in Hebrew, even though Arabic is an official state language. All of these questions should be clarified in a constitution. Lacking that, they should be mentioned in a basic law.
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And that's not all: What of the questions regarding a Jewish state's responsibility for the world's Jewry? Since ultra-Orthodox parties have marked reform and conservative Jews as outcasts, and since these groups include most US Jews, there's no choice but to have the state determine these people's status. And what of the Shabbat? How is it supposed to look? More and more businesses, malls, even public buses, are operating on Saturdays these days. The simulated crisis around the renovations of the HaShalom train station in Tel Aviv only emphasizes the absurd of religious dealing in this country: Eyes are averted from instances of regular affronts and sins, but voices are raised when there's a high-profile anecdotal event. Why not ask ourselves once and for all what the Shabbat means (In my view, the hypothetical covenant written by Prof. Ruth Gavison and Rabbi Yaacov Medan answers this question well), instead of relying on the vague concept of a "status quo?" From whom do I really need to receive this recognition in a Jewish state: The Palestinians, or the Israeli government? What are those who believe in peace accords afraid of, and what scares those who – like me – don’t believe in them? The demand of recognizing Israel as a Jewish state must remain, even if it only applies to ourselves. Yoaz Hendel is a senior contributor to Yedioth Ahronoth
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Ha’aretz– September 1, 2016 All You Centrist, Liberal Zionists: Netanyahu’s Destroyed Your Case for Ending the Occupation If your key anti-occupation talking point is that it’s in Israel’s interest: you’re in trouble. Netanyahu’s Israel is thriving on the occupation. There’s only one good case against it left.
By Larry Derfner
Centrists and center-leftists in Israel and abroad, liberals who think of themselves as practical, as realistic, as “muscular,” have been saying for decades that they want to end the occupation not for the Palestinians’ sake, God forbid – no, they want to end it for Israel’s sake. These are tough-minded people, after all, nothing naïve or effete about them. Well, gang, well, Zionist Unionists and Yesh Atidniks, liberal Zionists all, you don’t have a case anymore. Netanyahu has destroyed it. Look around. The occupation is going strong – and Israel’s doing great, just like Bibi says. We’re as safe as we’ve ever been. The “lone-wolf intifada” is basically over; we beat the Palestinians again. Mahmoud Abbas squawks, but he makes sure his troops are hard at work in the West Bank every day, protecting us. And Hamas? Pretty soon we’ll have an Iron Dome beneath the ground to stop their tunnels along with the one above ground that stops their rockets. What are they going to do? The economy’s doing fine, about as good as that of any Western country, and better than many. BDS? It’s become a fundraising pitch for AIPAC, a new “project” for the machers. It makes a lot of Jewish students uncomfortable at American colleges; for Israel it’s a useful punching bag. Oh, but we’re becoming isolated abroad, right? Here’s how isolated we are: Netanyahu figuratively pissed in Obama’s face in front of Congress last year, and since then he’s gone on building up settlements as much as he pleases – and all that’s left to decide is whether the U.S. will give Israel an additional billion dollars a year on top of the annual $3 billion, or sweeten the arrangement even more. Europe? The French peace initiative? It’s all Netanyahu can do to keep a straight face. But here’s the real beauty part – making peace with our Arab neighbors, the big prize waiting for us if we agree to a Palestinian state? We’re making peace with our Arab neighbors now! The Saudis love us! The Egyptians love us! Not the people, of course, but who cares? The Arab dictators, the Arab armies that are fighting these Islamic radicals, that hate Hamas, Iran and ISIS – we’re their enemies’ enemy, so they’re our friends! They couldn’t care less about the Palestinians, they want our intelligence, our technology, our leverage in Washington. The “New Middle East”? It’s finally starting to happen, thanks to the government of Bibi Netanyahu, Avigdor Lieberman and Naftali Bennett!
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This is the sort of thing Netanyahu’s been telling the media in these briefings lately, and he’s not lying. He is steering Israel’s ship goddamn well. So, muscular liberals, you really want to try to take down the occupation – now? You want to tell 100,000 settlers – at least – to leave their homes, you want to uproot Hebron, Yitzhar and all those other fanatical armed camps – when everything’s going so smoothly and there’s nothing but blue skies on the Israeli horizon? Why? For Israel’s sake? Are you that crazy? No. No, this just isn’t rational, not anymore. You don’t mess up Israel’s good thing and pitch the country into chaos, into extreme civil strife and maybe civil war because you want to do what’s best for Israel. No, that argument is finished. If you want to be tough-minded and realistic, if you want to look out for Israel’s practical self- interest, then give up this idea of ending the occupation – and get behind Bibi. Look around the country, see how good the Jews have got it here, see how pitiful the Palestinians are, how impotent our Western critics are, and admit that you were wrong and Bibi was right all along. You want to do what’s best for Israel, then look into those cold eyes of his and start seeing the world his way. Nope, there is no practical, realpolitik case for ending the occupation anymore. There is no more ending the occupation for Israel’s sake. There is only one reason left to end it: for the Palestinians’ sake. Because what we’ve been doing to them for the last half-century is immoral, forbidden. And in so doing, Israel has become an immoral country. If you don’t believe that, muscular liberals, then have the guts to admit that for Israel’s sake – its material sake, anyway – Bibi is the man. But if you do believe that Israel has indeed become an immoral country, then have the guts to stop speaking the language of practical self-interest and start speaking the language of conscience. Speak up for an end to the occupation – for the Palestinians’ sake, for the sake of restoring Israel’s lost morality; it’s the same thing. There is no other honest case against the occupation left to be made. Larry Derfner is a copy editor at Haaretz and he blogs at www.larryderfner.com.
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