David Singer: Freedom from PLO and Hamas Rule awaits Gaza and West Bank Arabs

Here's the latest article by Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer.

He writes:

The announced participation of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar in the “Prosperity for Peace Conference”  in Manama on 25-26 June — jointly convened by President Trump and Bahrain (“Manama Conference”) — promises to offer unique opportunities for Gaza and West Bank Arabs to emigrate to other Arab countries to seek better lives for their families.

Tens of millions of desperate people have fled their birthplaces in recent years seeking entry illegally into other countries. There is no reason to believe that Gaza and West Bank Arabs would not similarly want to emigrate if offered the opportunity to do so legally.

Gaza and West Bank Arabs have personally suffered under the oppressive rule of Hamas in Gaza since 2006 and the Palestine Liberation Organization in the West Bank since 1993. They have not been given the opportunity at any time to determine their own future in free and fair elections— except in 2006 when the PLO refused to accept the result. A bitter internecine struggle since then has ensued between Hamas and the PLO for political control of the Gaza and West Bank Arab populations that still remains unresolved. Elections are not even being contemplated to resolve this impasse.

The policies espoused by both Hamas and the PLO in relation to Israel have wrought disaster on Gaza and West Bank Arabs both in regard to their personal lives and economic prospects for themselves and their children.

The UAE has voiced its support for the Manama Conference and what it hopes will be achieved:

“The UAE supports all international efforts aimed at supporting economic progress and increasing opportunities in the region, and alleviating the suffering of people in the region, particularly our brothers in Palestine… It (the Conference) aims to lift the Palestinian people out of misery and to enable them for a stable and prosperous future”

Hamas and the PLO are both violently opposed to the Manama Conference and have indicated they will not be attending. They are well aware of the threat an exodus from Gaza and the West Bank would pose to their hold on power and financial privilege.

Hamas — which has turned Gaza into a hell hole since Israel unilaterally disengaged from there in 2005—had the gall to declare:

“We warn Arab states against the malicious activities aimed to pave the way for normalisation with the Israeli occupation and involvement in the deal of the century”

Saeb Erekat — secretary general of the PLO — expressed his opposition against the Conference claiming: 

“there will be no economic prosperity in Palestine without the end of the occupation”

Among the many exciting initiatives expected to be presented at the Conference is Saudi Arabia’s already announced NEOM project — a planned US$500 billion mega city.

The project includes a bridge spanning the Red Sea, connecting the proposed city to Africa. Some 10,000 square miles (25,900 square kilometers) — the size of Israel — have been allocated for the project - which will be close to the borders of Jordan and Egypt.

The opportunities for work and the prospects of enjoying happier and safer lives in being part of NEOM and other to-be announced projects would prove irresistible for Gaza and West Bank Arabs - fed up with decades of deprivation and suffering supposedly pursuing the goal of “ending the occupation” by creating another Arab State.

Hamas and PLO threats, objections and non-attendance will not see the Manama Conference cancelled.

Hamas and the PLO will be left to hang out and dry — having been responsible for prolonging the Jewish-Arab conflict that should have been resolved decades ago.
 
(Author’s note: The cartoon—commissioned exclusively for this article — is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones” — one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators— whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli and international media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog)

"The Most Dangerous Group in Islam's History"

Here's a video that the BBC's inadequate "Middle East editor" Jeremy Bowen, and fellow Beeboid Paul Danahar, with their fuzzy conception of the Muslim Brotherhood, might like to watch and inwardly digest.

It shows an interview that Syrian intellectual Hashem Saleh gave on 19 April this year on Sky News Arabia TV (Abu Dhabi), in which he maintains that the Muslim Brotherhood, is "the most dangerous group" in Islam's history, the "mother" of other radical groups such as ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and the Taliban.   He argues that the biggest problem facing Arabs and Muslims is a "theological problem" and that Arab civilization must abandon the Muslim Brotherhood and its ideology so that it can "rise anew."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzCAQJWWs6g

A Memri.org video

Meanwhile, from The Clarion Project:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6_QK7LbhVw

Dr. Michael Welner, a forensic psychiatrist, explains the dangers in breeding child soldiers and why ISIS is successful in doing so. https://kidsthemovie.com/

Talking of the BBC, check out Hadar Saleh's exposé of the Corporation's recent despicably biased (against Israel) offerings on Newsbeat, intended for young adults. 

Oh, and for hypocrisy, check out this Twitter thread, regarding recently deceased former Aussie prime minister Bob Hawke, a man who was serially unfaithful to and ultimately left his long-suffering wife Hazel, mother of his five children (one deceased in infancy, one aborted in order to convenience his career), who "cavorted" with topless go-go dancers and used the obnoxious c**t word.

Now just imagine how Jezza, Mike and the lefties would react had that been Donald Trump!

"Israel is a Defensive State"

Former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper tells it like it is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXy4NXbuE-k

A prageru.com video

“You Have the Watches, But We Have the Time"

See this oldie but goody article

To quote from this report, citing a blog by the Swedish journalist Ingrid Carlqvist, Somalian-born Swede Mona Walter, a convert to Christianity from Islam, has been trying in vain to convince Swedes that mass Islamic immigration imperils their country's future, preferring to bury their heads in the sand than confront her stark warning that

"Islam will take over in 50 years. The demography is very clear – in 100 years it’s game over”

Warns Mona:

'For many years I have tried to get the Swedes to understand what the Muslim goal is – to take over your country. The first thing they will do is demand Sharia courts, just like in the UK....
If Sweden recognises Sharia courts the Muslims will have new demands, like permission to rule their own enclaves without interference from the Swedish society. The end goal is for Sharia to rule all of Sweden....
What Muslim politicians want is to change the laws so that Muslims in Sweden get permission to live under Sharia law. They want to rule their own areas without having to obey the secular laws of Sweden.
That is the long-term goal and Islam has lots of patience. As they say: “You have the watches, but we have the time".
Before the election on September 9 last year most Swedish journalists were hysterical about the Nazi party Nordic Resistance Movement. They got 2,106 votes, clearly showing that Swedes are not interested in National socialism.
But no one seems scared by the fact that Sweden now have approximately one million Muslims in the country, of which many have infiltrated the political parties to promote their own interests. The question is when Muslims will form their own party in Sweden....'

Ms Carlqvist, who will be no stranger to long-time readers of my blog (her video appearances attest that she's a lady as easy on the ear and eye as she's plucky and perspicacious), points out, meanwhile, inter alia here, that in 2018

"Leila Ali Elmi, a 30-year-old Somali woman, took a seat in the Swedish parliament last Sunday without uttering one word in Swedish during her campaign."

And here's an article that typifies Ms Carlqvist's opposition to the anti-Israel stance of Sweden's Margot Wallstrom and cronies.

For Muslim populations by country, 2019, see here

Knock, Knock, Knocking at Hell's Eighth Gate ... A Jew-Hater Tells

If you're Jewish, you're probably well-advised to give this lady's dental equipment a wide berth.

To quote the uploader and translator, Memri.org:

'Kuwaiti singer Dr. Monia Al-Hob said in a January 27, 2019 interview on Al-Rawdatain TV (Kuwait) that Muslims must not recognize Israel. She cited a hadith that said the Muslims will fight the Jews on Judgement Day and that the trees and rocks will call to the Muslims and tell them about Jews that are hiding behind them. Dr. Al-Hob also claimed that the Jews plant gharqad trees everywhere they go because this is the only kind of tree that will not call to the Muslims on Judgement Day. She further said that there will be eight gates to Hell on Judgement Day, and that one of them will be a special gate for the Jews. She emphasized that the "Zionist entity" is unacceptable, that relations with Israel must never be normalized, and that the legal punishment for doing so is hard labor and a large fine. Al-Hob, who was born Hoda Abd Al-Rahman, is a dental surgeon. She used to present a medical show on Kuwait TV.'

( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez6hwbDpdsg)

If you're French, you've probably already thought of emigrating:

To quote the uploader and translator, Memri.org:

'Paris-based Lebanese journalist Maya Khadra said in a May 12, 2019 interview on Al-Hurra TV (U.S.) that some French politicians have begun using Islamist rhetoric in order to win favors of the Muslim majority in Parisian suburbs and have even visited Salafi mosques. She said that there are unlicensed organizations that operate "in the shadows" and that spread the ideologies of ISIS and the Muslim Brotherhood, and that Qatar has played a major role in funding Muslim Brotherhood activity in France and Europe. She explained that the Muslim Brotherhood employs modern and progressive rhetoric and that the French government turns a blind eye to the fact that this endeavor receives foreign funding. Khadra added that the Islamists do not recognize the borders or sovereignty of countries and that they view wherever they are as their own "state" where shari'a law should be established'. 

 ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhjqUhG8TTM)

In Christchurch, New Zealand, a Tangled Webb

One of Jacinda Ardern's MPs, Duncan Webb, has been criticised, quite rightly, by the New Zealand Jewish Council for his advocacy of the odious BDS movement, which as many readers will know has been recently called out for the antisemitic initiative it is by the German Bundestag.

To quote the Council's press release of 20 May:

".... Dr Webb has claimed that BDS has a right to question the policies of the Israeli Government. The Jewish Council has no issue with Dr Webb questioning the policies of Israel, in the same way as with any other country.

However, advocating for a boycott of a country is not questioning its policies. Trying to get Madonna to not perform at the Eurovision Song Contest, for example, which Dr Webb publicly expressed support for, has nothing to do with questioning Israeli government policy.

In a letter to the Prime Minister as Leader of the Labour Party, other Ministers, and the Party President, the Jewish Council pointed out that the achievement of BDS’s three stated goals would mean the end of the Jewish people’s right to self-determination. This is irreconcilable with a negotiated “two-state solution” to the Arab-Israeli conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, which has been longstanding official New Zealand policy.

A response from the Prime Minister’s office said that “the Labour Party supports a two-state solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and recognises that New Zealand has a growing trade and economic relationship with Israel.”

The Jewish Council welcomes that statement, but is concerned that Dr Webb’s support for BDS is an attack on the legitimacy of Israel, and contradicts the two-state policy. The language used by the BDS movement demonises the Jewish homeland Israel and, by association, the Jewish people, including New Zealand Jews.

The NZ Jewish Council sees widespread BDS activity overseas affecting Jews in many countries, and increasing antisemitism in those countries, and is concerned that promotion of BDS here threatens the security of the New Zealand Jewish community...."

It seems Dr Webb has a real bee in his bonnet regarding Israel.  Here's one of his very latest tweets. 

The Dr Cumin referred to is Kiwi Jewish academic Dr David Cumin, who heads the Israel Institute of New Zealand.  He has the measure of Dr Webb and of BDS here.  Inter alia:

"In trying to frame the argument as a free speech issue, Dr Webb makes three serious errors of judgment. First, he ignores the fact that the BDS campaign spreads discriminatory lies in order to demonise the Jewish state and seek its destruction. The BDS campaign is more than a simple expression of opinion – it is a call for concrete action that is comparable to the German boycott of Jewish businesses or the Arab boycott of Jews in British Mandate Palestine. For this reason, BDS has been outlawed in some democratic countries because it is discriminatory and anti-semitic.

Secondly, his tweet was in support of preventing a musician from playing at an event. His tweet was, therefore seeking to stifle freedom of expression – an expression that could help bring people together, in fact. The hypocrisy should be clear to anyone who takes a moment to consider it.

Finally, supporting freedom of speech does not mean one should support discriminatory messages. People should be free to speak their minds and Nazi marches are also an expression of a political view. However, supporting the right of Nazis to protest is different to support for their message. And Dr Webb certainly supports the anti-Israel agenda of BDS.

In August last year, Dr Webb, hosted a lunch so a recently returned activist could talk about his experience on the anti-Israel “international freedom flotilla”. The aim of the “flotilla” was to breach a legal blockade designed to prevent terror attacks. Thus, the “peace flotilla” is an act of support for violence.

At the time, the Israel Institute of New Zealand called on his party and the government to distance themselves from this action and condemn Hamas terror that the “flotilla” supports. There has been no response. And in June, Dr Webb said he was “happy” to present a petition that called for the New Zealand Government Superannuation Fund to divest from Israeli banks...."

The John Minto referred to in the letter partly featured in Webb's tweet (above, right) is this fella, who may be no stranger to readers of my blog, since he's been featured before, when he lived in Auckland; now living in Christchurch, he is a keen BDSer. 

Among Dr Cumin's latest tweets, by the way:

That's the Janus face of Al Jazeera for you!

Fickle Fannys Down Under

The Iranians hang gays from cranes, and the hard men of Hamas have a habit of throwing gays off the roofs of buildings, but when the Eurovision Song Contest is held in Tel Aviv, a singularly misplaced hatred for Israel prods gay activists into turning their backs on the event.

Not all gays, of course.  Even the pompous "occasional Jew" (as somebody deliciously termed him) and gay icon Stephen Fry, who invokes his halachic Jewish status on occasions when to do so suits him (such as signing as-a-Jew statements inveighing against Israel) joined such staunch pro-Israel figures as Tracy Ann Oberman and Gene Simmons in signing a statement issued by the so-called Creative Community for Peace condemning calls for a boycott of this year's Israel-based event:

"We, the undersigned, believe that music is our shared language, one that transcends boundaries and brings people together under a common bond.

We believe that unifying events, such as singing competitions, are crucial to help bridge our cultural divides and bring people of all backgrounds together through their shared love of music.

The annual Eurovision Song Contest embodies this unifying power. Every year, millions of people across Europe, and around the world, join together in a massive display of cultural exchange and celebration of music.

Unfortunately, this year, the spirit of togetherness is under attack by those calling to boycott Eurovision 2019 because it is being held in Israel, subverting the spirit of the contest and turning it from a tool of unity into a weapon of division.

We believe the cultural boycott movement is an affront to both Palestinians and Israelis who are working to advance peace through compromise, exchange, and mutual recognition.

While we all may have differing opinions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the best path to peace, we all agree that a cultural boycott is not the answer."

From a gay paper:

".... Among those boycotting the event are LGBT+ organisations in Barcelona, Copenhagen and Melbourne, who all announced in recent weeks that planned Eurovision parties would not go ahead due to the ongoing conflict.

At least three LGBT+ organisations have cancelled planned Eurovision parties and screenings as a part of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel....

Among those boycotting the event are LGBT+ organisations in Barcelona, Copenhagen and Melbourne, who all announced in recent weeks that planned Eurovision parties would not go ahead due to the ongoing conflict....

Barcelona-based LGBT+ organisation El Casal Lambda cancelled this year’s edition of its annual Eurovision party, which was due to take place at the city’s LGBT+ centre, due to their “long and extensive experience defending human rights.”

Meanwhile, an LGBT+ youth organisation in Copenhagen announced in a statement on Facebook earlier this month that its planned Eurovision party would not go ahead.

“We have listened to the feedback we have received and have chosen not to hold the event,” the statement said.

They said they had planned to celebrate Eurovision as they saw it as a non-political event and a celebration of the European community....

“However, we in LGBT+ Youth do not feel that we can support the Eurovision, because this year there are a lot of problems around Eurovision’s use of pinkwashing.” They said they will instead host an ABBA themed party.

“Pinkwashing” describes the practice of an organisation, city or country aiming to appear as LGBT+ friendly in order to be seen as progressive."

Which is, of course, what Israel, as a secular western democracy, most certainly is, and one, moreover, on the cutting edge of breakthroughs in science and medicine that benefit all humankind.

But the weak-willed who have given in to boycott demands have given in to haters such as Alia Malak of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), who insists that the staging of Eurovision in Israel is trying to divert attention from its “racist and violent regime.”

Continues the newspaper:

"Meanwhile, an LGBT+ club night in Melbourne called Fannys at Franny’s had intended to screen this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. However, they backtracked after an activist commented and said they were “disappointed” that a queer event was screening Eurovision due to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The club night responded and said they had decided not to screen Eurovision due to “human rights concerns.”

Elsewhere, Queen’s University Belfast Students’ Union cancelled its planned Eurovision party in an LGBT+ themed venue, according to the Irish News.

“Recognising the indivisibility of struggles of oppressed communities, queer and trans liberation groups around the world answered the Palestinian call to boycott Eurovision,” Malak said.

“The spontaneous show of support from LGBTQ+ groups helped turn Eurovision into a platform to expose Israel’s cynical use of LGBTQ+ rights to deflect criticism, or pinkwashing, and to bring visibility to the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and equality.” ....'

Bit queer, this gay hatred of Israel, innit.

The good news Down Under is, of course, that Bill Shorten, leader of the Australian Labor Party whose leftwing shows signs of taking the party in a Bob Carr direction regarding Israel, has been deprived of his long-held dream of becoming Australia's prime minister is good news in more ways than one.

With the pro-Palestinian Anthony Albanese the first of the Labor pack to declare himself a candidate for the party's leadership post-Shorten, the conservative Australian Jewish Association has this afternoon expressed its fears in a nutshell:

Albanese is, though, on record as expressing his firm opposition to BDS.  With others such as Tanya Plibersek, another leftwinger who at one time was definitely perceived as a foe of Israel, considering a bid for the leadership [update: she's ruled herself out of the race], it is probably too early to comment.

Correct Answer? Israel (video)

"The sad truth is that antisemites are willfully ignorant and do not let the truth get in the way of their demonization of Jews and Israel" rightly declares American foreign policy analyst Mitchell Bard in his latest post here

Meanwhile:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k1cSsT_1uM

And:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DND-WnwRZ0

David Singer: Trump Set to Reject UN and PLO on Jews' Legal Rights in West Bank

Here's the latest post by Sydney lawyer and international affairs analyst David Singer.

He writes:

President Trump is set to reject the United Nations (UN)and Palestine Liberation Organization(PLO) claim that Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) is illegal in international law.

 The UN and PLO have for decades denied thel egal rights vested in theJewish people to reconstitute the Jewish NatIonal Home in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) pursuant to article 6 of the 1922 League of Nations Mandate for Palestine – preserved until today under article 80 of the UN Charter.

Some 400,000 Jews now live in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) and  Trump is going to recognize that those areas “will remain in Israeli hands under a permanent accord,” according to a report on Israel’s Channel 12.

To that end, the report said, “the Americans will not oppose Israeli steps relating to the settlements”.

Specifically, while the US will not explicitly back the formal “extension of Israeli sovereignty” to the settlements, or their “annexation,” the report said, it will not object to the “extension of Israeli law” to the settlements.

Trump’s decision – if correctly reported – will send the UN and the PLO into dual tailspins of their own making.

Acting in breach of its own Charter has reduced the UN to an organization held hostage by the 134 anti-Israel nations comprising the G77 that have long sponsored this canard of Jewish illegality.

The PLO’s claim since its formation in 1964 that the Mandate for Palestine was “null and void” ignored the fact that all 51 member states of the League of Nations had unanimously conferred those rights on the Jewish people in recognition of the “the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country”.

Trump’s decision would not go as far as the promise made by Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In the run up to last month’s Israeli election:

“I am going to apply Israeli sovereignty, but I don’t distinguish between settlement blocs and isolated settlements.  From my perspective, each of those settlement points is Israeli. We have responsibility [for them] as the government of Israel. I don’t uproot any, and I won’t transfer them to the sovereignty of the Palestinians. I take care of them all.”

Trump’s decision would not resolve the issue of Jewish and Arab sovereignty in specifically designated areas of Judea and Samaria (WestBank) which would still remain to be resolved in direct negotiations.

 However Trump would be clearly signaling that the PLO claim to establish a second UN-backed Palestinian Arab State in every square meter of Judea and Samaria (West Bank) – in addition to Jordan – is dead in the water.

Seven weeks ago at a White House ceremony with Netanyahu present, Trump signed a proclamation declaring it “appropriate to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights” and that “the United States recognizes that the Golan Heights are part of the State of Israel.”

Trump’s reported position on Judea and Samaria (West Bank) is a natural progression in his plan to end the 100 years old Jewish-Arab conflict.

The decades of denial by the UN and PLO of any legal rights vested in the Jews to live in  – and claim sovereignty over  – any part of the 22 per cent of the territory of former Palestine allocated to them for that purpose by the Mandate will be ended by President Trump.

Trump would be finally restoring the League of Nations decision on Palestine to its preeminent position in international law. Excising the greatest obstacle to resolving the Jewish-Arab conflict would be one of Trump’s greatest political achievements.

(Author’s note: The cartoon—commissioned exclusively for this article—is by Yaakov Kirschen aka “Dry Bones”-one of Israel’s foremost political and social commentators—whose cartoons have graced the columns of Israeli andinternational media publications for decades. His cartoons can be viewed at Drybonesblog)