David Singer: Jordan-Israel Peace Agenda Trumps PLO-UN War Agenda

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

He writes:

Jordan and Israel are becoming enmeshed in a bi-national agenda requiring urgent direct negotiations – which if successfully concluded – could end the 100-years old Jewish-Arab conflict.

That agenda includes:

1. Redrawing the existing Jordan-Israel international boundary after allocating sovereignty in Judea and Samaria (West Bank) between their two respective States.
2. Clarifying the right of Jews to enter and pray at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem – currently controlled by Jordan as Custodian of the Islamic holy sites
3. Renewing 25-year leases of two areas leased by Jordan to Israel for agricultural use that expire next year.
4. Increasing the amount of water currently being supplied by Israel to Jordan
5. Progressing the feasibility of constructing the Mediterranean-Dead Sea Canal
6. Financing the Red Sea–Dead Sea Water Conveyance – a planned pipeline that runs from the coastal city of Aqaba to the Lisan area in the Dead Sea.

Jordan and Israel’s Peace Treaty – signed in 1994 – has successfully withstood serious pressures that could have seen its revocation in:

• September 1997 – when an Israeli attempt to assassinate Hamas leader Khaled Meshall was botched
• May 2014 – when Jordan recalled its ambassador from Israel “in protest at the increasing and unprecedented Israeli escalation in the Noble Sanctuary, and the repeated Israeli violations of Jerusalem,”
• July 2017 – when an armed guard at the Israeli embassy in Amman opened fire after being attacked with a screwdriver by a teenager who was delivering furniture to a home within the embassy compound – killing his attacker and the owner of the property.

However cool heads and common-sense prevailed on both sides on those occasions to prevent the Peace Treaty being trashed.

In contrast – the lack of any peace agreement with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) has caused negotiations between Israel and the PLO to be conducted over the last 25 years under an atmosphere of confrontation and mutual distrust.

Jerusalem-based journalist Khaled Abu Toameh has pointed out that PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas has vowed at least 15 times in recent months to thwart President Trump’s upcoming plan to end the Jewish-Arab conflict – even though Abbas hasn’t yet seen its contents.

Toameh continues:

“Abbas and his representatives in Ramallah have radicalized their people against the Israeli government to a point where meeting or doing business with any Israeli official is tantamount to treason. That is why Abbas does not and cannot return to the negotiating table with Israel and also why Abbas cannot change his position toward the Trump administration.”

Abbas has instead sought to advance the PLO’s stated aim to destroy both Israel and Jordan by using the United Nations as the Trojan horse to initially try to impose the creation of a second Arab state in former Palestine – in addition to Jordan – over Israel’s objections.

The UN General Assembly recognition of the fictitious and non-existent “State of Palestine” as Chair of the 144 nation G77 bloc at the United Nations for 2019 indicates the lack of credibility and integrity to which an acquiescent and fawning United Nations is prepared to sink in supporting the PLO’s agenda.

Trump’s plan could represent the last chance to resolve the Jewish-Arab conflict peacefully. Should Jordan and Israel simultaneously agree to negotiate on its final terms – then the prospect of Trump actually pulling off “the deal of the century” becomes realistically achievable.

Redefining the boundary between two countries sharing a signed peace treaty is infinitely easier to achieve than creating a potentially-hostile third state between them that seeks both their destruction.
Jordan-Israel negotiations offer hope for an enduring peace.

The PLO-UN flight into fantasy promises war, chaos and upheaval.

(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)

Facilitating & Thwarting Hamas's "Dead Baby Strategy"

"I'm not pro-Israel, I'm not pro-Palestinian, and I'm not pro-American.  But as a journalist I'm pro the facts and pro the truth."

Little wonder that the Jerusalem Post's West Bank and Gaza correspondent, Khaled Abu Toameh, the man whose journalistic integrity bears out that assertion of his, is being recognised for his fair and courageous reporting about Israel at a gala function in New York next month under the auspices of CAMERA, the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting, (at which Douglas Murray will be the keynote speaker).

It's safe to say that the BBC's West Bank and Gaza correspondent, Jon Donnison, who is bound not only by moral and professional but by his employer's obligation to report in a neutral, objective manner, will not be so honoured any time soon.

One of the most egregious of Donnison's outrages upon facts and truth concerned, of course, the tragic death during Operation Pillar of Cloud [aka Defence] in November of infant Omar Masharawi, the son of their BBC colleague Jihad (or, as they soon decided to style him, Jehad) Masharawi.  And Donnison wasn't the sole BBC journalist who hastened, despite the likelihood that a misfired Hamas rocket was in fact culpable (as is now known to have been the case), to lay the blame for the baby's death squarely at Israel's door.

As BBC Watch observes:

"The BBC used the story of Omar Masharawi to advance the narrative of Israel as a ruthless killer of innocent children. It did so in unusually gory detail which etched the story in audiences’ minds, but without checking the facts, and with no regard whatsoever for its obligations to accuracy and impartiality. BBC reporters and editors  – including Jon Donnison, Paul Danahar and the many others who distributed the story via Twitter – rushed to spread as far and wide as possible a story they could not validate, but which fit in with their own narrative.

It is impossible to undo the extensive damage done by the BBC with this story. No apology or correction can now erase it from the internet or from the memories of the countless people who read it or heard it. Nevertheless, the people responsible for the fact that the unverified story was allowed to run – and that it was deliberately given such exceptionally extensive coverage – must be held accountable for their failure to even try to uphold the standards to which the BBC professes to adhere." (Read the rest here, as well as Adam Levick's piece here)

And as Alan Dershowitz observes in a must-read article:

"....The errant rocket that killed Omar Misharawi was fired by Hamas terrorists from a densely populated civilian area adjacent to the home of the BBC reporter Jihad Misharawi. Hamas selects such locations for firing its rockets precisely so that Israel will respond by firing into civilian areas and killing Palestinian civilians. They regard such dead civilians as “shahids”, or martyrs for the cause. It is better for Hamas’ publicity campaign if the rocket that kills the Palestinian baby was fired by the Israeli Defense Forces, but even if the rocket was fired by Hamas terrorists, Hamas will claim, as they do regarding this death, that the lethal rocket was fired by Israel. Often the evidence is inconclusive, though the forensic evidence in this case points clearly to a Hamas rocket.

The important point is that it doesn’t really matter who actually fired the rocket that killed the baby. The baby was killed by Hamas as part of a calculated strategy designed to point the emotional finger of moral blame at the IDF for doing what every democracy would do: namely, defend its civilians from rocket attacks by targeting those who are firing the rockets, even if they are firing them from civilian areas....

Babies like Omar Misharawi will continue to die in Gaza and in Israel so long as the world media continues to serve as facilitators of Hamas’ dead baby strategy. [Emphasis added] Every time a picture of a dead Palestinian baby being held by his grieving parents appears on television or on the front pages of newspapers around the world, Hamas wins. And when Hamas wins, they continue with their deadly strategy. The media, therefore, is complicit in the death of Omar Misharawi as it is in the deaths of other civilians who are victims of Hamas’ dead baby strategy. Pictures of dead babies in the arms of their grieving fathers are irresistible to the media. That won’t change. What should change is the caption. Every time a dead Palestinian baby is shown, the caption should explain the strategy that led to his or her death: namely that Hamas deliberately fires its rockets from areas in which babies live and into which Israel must fire if it is to stop its own babies from being killed...."

Read all of Dershowitz's article here 

Abu Toameh Talks In Sydney On The Palestinian Statehood Bid and Prospects For Peace

Shown on the following unconnected video speaking about the Arab Uprisings earlier this year, the distinguished Palestinian Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, who's written for the Jerusalem Post since 2002, addressed a standing-room only meeting of some 300 people yesterday at Sydney’s Central Synagogue.

 Reports Henry Benjamin for J-Wire:

'..... A graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Abu Toumeh [sic] works mostly in areas not deemed safe for Israeli journalists. Alluding to the rise of anti-Israel sentiment throughout Western society Abu Toumeh  wryly said that he felt safer with Fatah and Hamas than talking on a university campus in North America.

He said that in 2007 the Hamas, after gaining power, had expelled the PLO from Gaza many fleeing to Egypt. “Egypt sealed its borders and many Muslim PLO members found themselves trapped in Gaza. We saw one country that came to their aid, sending helicopters, ships and buses and even taxis to save Muslims from being slaughtered by Muslims. Israel took the Palestinians from Gaza and moved them to the West Bank” adding that the Palestinians already  have two States. Gaza, backed by Iran, Syria, Sudan, Muslim Brotherhood and the West Bank. He quietly said: “As a Muslim, I feel safer being in Israel than being in Gaza.”

Abu Toumeh said that what Palestinians say publicly is not always the official line pointing out that if Israel carries out what the PLO is demanding in public…a withdrawal to the 1967 lines, the PLO will collapse in less than a week and Hamas will take over. He pleaded that Israel should not make the same mistake as it did in 2005 by handing over Gaza to the PLO only to see Hamas gaining control over the area..He said that land should only be handed over to those who can control that.

He conjectured that if Israel were to withdraw from the West Bank where the PLO is seen to be as being weak, the territory may well come under the control of Iran, Al-Qaeda and Hamas.

Commenting on the 1967 lines, Abu Toumeh said that there is no clearly defined boundary. He said that tracing that line today would mean going through private properties.

[H]e commented that if it were it not for Israel’s presence between Fatah and Hamas, there could well be war between the two Palestinian organisations.

Abu Toumeh questioned as how to move forward with the peace process.  He said relations between Israel and Palestinians have “been going downhill” since the peace process started in 1993 adding “we miss the good old days before the peace process.” He said the radical Palestinian camp is saying “I want everything. This land is all Muslim-owned land from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River. I want to replace the Jewish State with an Islamic State. This is the Hamas-led radical camp. It is not a tiny minority and it does not want talk with you, it does not want to negotiate. It wants to destroy you. The moderate camp is the less radical PLO camp. It wants to go back to 1967 lines with no concessions. They do not want to negotiate with Israel because Israel will not give 100%. The PLO has told its people that anyone willing to give 1% to Israel is a traitor.”

He said that next month’s United Nations Statehood Bid is all about trying to negotiate a country without talking to Israel and the campaign is ultimately aimed at isolating and delegitimising Israel.

Abu Toumeh forecasted that the UN will not declare a Palestinian State but that Palestine, should it become a member country of the UN, will complain to the Security Council that one member is occupying another. He is of the view that they will demand that UN issue a resolution for Israel to withdraw from Palestine. He added: “They will not comply so they will demand sanctions against Israel calling for the country to be kicked out of all human rights groups. and its leaders brought to trial for war crimes. I feel that it is more about punishing Israel than acquiring a State”.  [My emphasis]

He continued with advice for the Palestinians:  ”There is only one way of achieving a State. You have to negotiate with Israel whether you like it or not.”

The meeting was told that there are 200,000 Jews living in the West Bank and that the majority of Jews in Israel want a two State solution. “But there should be separation. Israel should not be meddling in the internal affairs of the Palestinians.” he added.

Abu Toumeh believes Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is making a major mistake driving Israel into a corner at the UN, expressing concern about the possibility of sanctions against his people.

Of Abbas  he said: “He does not have a mandate from the Palestinians. There has been no debate. There is no democracy or free press in Ramallah. We do not have a functioning parliament. Abbas has only consulted with people on his payroll. He said Hamas would not accept Abbas’s concept because they want a State to replace Israel, not sit alongside it. Abu Toumeh said that this would have an effect on the millions living in refugee camps and who are being made aware of the right of return…the right to return to their original homes.”

He went on to say that the Palestinians to [sic] turn against Israel and America in case the push for the declaration of a Palestinian state fails. They want people to march on IDF checkpoints to embarrass Israel. Throwing stones and molotov cocktails will provoke reaction from the IDF adding that he PA does not treat Israel as a peace partner. They treat Israel as an enemy. The Palestinians have been radicalised by Abbas ...'  not only Hamas. His rhetoric is very strong, They do not treat Israel as a peace partner. They treat Israel as an enemy.

Abu Toumeh is concerned about the future believing that the Third Intifida could be “around the corner”.

Khaled Abu Toumeh’s message to the Palestinian Authority? “Go back to the negotiating table very quickly before things get out of hand. What he is doing can destroy the peace process and lead to more violence.”'

 See also:  http://www.hudson-ny.org/2350/palestinian-spring  (Hat tip: reader Shirlee)

Not Just a Funny Old Lady: Ancient Prejudices Indoctrinating the Young

There she was, right on time, an hour before noon, when the supermarket was beginning to get busy for the day.  From across the car park I recognised her instantly, a small elderly figure with grey pudding-basin hair.  Rain or shine, she and  a coven of offsiders (one of similar vintage) meet weekly in a local campus canteen, where they sit with coffee cups abutting a great wad of Palestine Solidarity Campaign and BDS literature (destined for saturating the tables when the place fills up with students), and confer in low conspiratorial tones.

Presumably they get together like that to plan their next anti-Israel initiative - a concert or three, Rod Cox's exhibition of propaganda from Gaza (at which, thanks to a series of tough questions that the wily bloke refused to answer, I was revealed as a supporter of the Zionist Entity and  treated accordingly),  a mock-up apartheid wall obstructing pedestrians, imitation IDF checkpoints in the town centre entailing the harassment of passers-by, twinning the town with Gaza ... these have all been tried.

This weekend (and all next week) it's back to the more routine business of trying to cajole shoppers into boycotting Israeli goods (not just "settlement goods"), and a press release to that effect was duly printed in the local paper, which happily gives this Israel-loathing coven publicity but rarely if ever has deigned to print letters in support of Israel.

Anyway, there she was, zippily starting off the Boycott Week, darting back and forth for all her 65-and-then-some years with the agility and appearance of a little grey bird, her eyes bright with misplaced zeal as she buttonholed shoppers (including me), thrust leaflets comparing Israel to "apartheid South Africa" into their hands, and demanded that they refrain from purchasing the potatoes and peppers from Israel. 

I seldom shop in that particular supermarket (its prices are higher than its rivals in town) but as a result of her alerting me to the Zionist produce inside, in I strode, and out I soon came, to show her proudly my generous helping of Israeli red peppers (and sweet and delicious they've proved, too, even if they are nearly double the price of their admittedly shorter and thinner Spanish equivalents in the El Cheapo store).

Seeing her energised, almost youthful, with the lust of Israel-bashing made me snap.  "This is my response to antisemites!" I told her as I passed, jabbing long peppers suggestively upwards into the air.

An innocent expression pervaded her worn features.  "How can I be an antisemite? The Palestinians are semites"  she responded sweetly in an obviously well-used answer. (Yeah, whatever.)

There are lots of old ladies like her in the Israel-delegitimising movement worldwide.  I particularly abhor them because they are of a generation that in childhood saw the horrific newsreels of the liberated death camps, and which knows full well the extent of Nazi horrors against the Jewish People and yet would deny Israel, tiny sliver-like Israel, the right to self-defence and of the Jewish People to self-determination.

Some such women are naive pacifists.  Yet like the local "Peace Network", led by an octogenarian who wears a funny floppy hat with a CND badge affixed to it, they obsess about one world troublespot  to the exclusion of all others, and in their repeated calls for Israel to end the siege on Gaza they forget that Israel withdrew from Gaza only to be rewarded with rocketfire from the barbarians of Hamas. 

Some, I have no doubt, are cloaking an innate antisemitism in the "respectable" mantle of anti-Zionism.

Some in the BDS (I call it Boycott Derangement Syndrome) movement are prepared to commit something akin to vandalism, such is the extent of their fanaticism.  Look at the mess this activist in Wales has made outside a Tesco store, upsetting a trolley deliberately packed with Israeli goods from inside and smearing the contents over the foyer.

Some of them, like the "Raging Grannies" in Massachusetts or our local "peace choir" (whose repertoire consists almost entirely of songs and carols denouncing Israel) make fools of themselves, demonstrating in public with literal song and dance.

Others betray an ignorance of the history of "Palestine" that is staggering, and of course entirely to the detriment of the Jews.

As Professor Barry Rubin has warned regarding Helen Thomas, about whom I've posted twice in recent days, ridicule cannot deny the fact that their views are working their poison.

'It's amazing how bad the public discussion of issues is nowadays. Here's a tiny example. Helen Thomas was fired for her anti-Jewish statements and was recently interviewed in Playboy where she made more such remarks that are--correctly--being interpreted as antisemitic.

But why does Thomas hate Israel so much, a hatred that spills over into antisemitism? I haven't seen a single person who's gotten it right. She's no neo-Nazi or nut case. Thomas is of Lebanese descent, albeit Christian, and basically views herself on this issue at least as an Arab. The important factor is not her eccentricity but her typicality.

What Thomas is doing, then, and has done for many years, is to express ideas common in the Arabic-speaking world which are becoming increasingly common in the West. That's why she's significant and that's where she's coming from. Her blend of anti-Zionism and antisemitism--using traditional anti-Jewish themes, sometimes applied to Israel and at times to all Jews--is just like what exists in a high percentage of households in the Arabic-speaking and Muslim-majority worlds.

We're not talking about a funny old lady but about a worldview held by millions of people in a lot of countries, by revolutionary Islamists and terrorists, and by a growing number of people on Western college campuses and in elite circles. This is not some joke but rather a "craziness" that kills and shapes the fate of whole nations and continents.' http://rubinreports.blogspot.com/2011/03/two-helen-thomas-farces-what-she-says.html

The pity of it is that this poison, helped, needless to say, by the prejudices of the mainstream media, which kindles the enmity towards Israel in some individuals and of course reinforces it in them and others, has spread even to Jewish youth.  Blogger Edgar Davidson recently mentioned how it has infected the Orthodox school in London which his daughter attends (http://edgar1981.blogspot.com/2011/02/anti-israel-indoctrination-in-uk.html) and around the same time the Jewish Chronicle (25 February 2011) reported that many Jewish teenagers in Manchester had "begun to acknowledge arguments that questioned the moral validity of Israel's creation as a state".

It quoted a 17-year-old at Manchester Grammar School thus:

 "I've always thought Israel has a right to exist.  But it is hard when there is so much anti-Israel news and a lot of people I go to school with are quite strongly anti-Israel."

Said an 18-year-old at the city's Jewish day school, King David School:

"In my year there are quite a lot of us brought up in left-leaning families but they don't talk about their views because the school is completely Zionist."

This inculcation of anti-Israel prejudices among the young is the sobering reality which faces us today.  And it's mainly because of what they've learned from their elders, who like many a "funny old lady" have been influenced by what the Israeli Arab journalist Khaled Abu Toameh characterised last year as ignorant international journalists:

“They don’t speak Arabic or Hebrew, they don’t know the history and they are often very biased. They don’t want to report the corruption and violence within Palestinian society because it doesn’t fit their narrative of good Palestinians and bad Israelis.” http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/journalist-says-only-truth-will-set-palestine-free/story-e6frg6z6-1225866997079

(He named no names, but I reckon that's as good a nutshell description of Al Beeb's Jeremy Bowen as any, any that are printable, that is, which we're likely to find!)