FEED Validator

Congratulations!

This is a valid Atom 1.0 feed.

Recommendations

This feed is valid, but interoperability with the widest range of feed readers could be improved by implementing the following recommendations.

• line 1, column 118: Use of unknown namespace: http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008 [help]

  ... r.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2 ...
                                               ^

• line 1, column 118: Unable to validate namespace: http://schemas.google.com/g/2005. See the Google Data specification at https://developers.google.com/gdata/docs/1.0/elements [help]

  ... r.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2 ...
                                               ^

• line 1, column 1061: Self reference doesn't match document location [help]

  ... eds/2631804742177066432/posts/default'/><link rel='alternate' type='text ...
                                               ^

• line 1, column 0: style attribute contains potentially dangerous content: line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 144pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: right; text-indent: -144pt; (3 occurrences) [help]

  <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blog ...
  

• line 103, column 1309: title should not contain HTML unless declared in the type attribute: & [help]

  ... amophobia among Labour Party Members, UK</title><content type='html'>&lt ...
                                               ^

• line 129, column 887: link should not contain HTML: & [help]

  ... phobia among Labour Party Members, UK'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><u ...
                                               ^

Source: https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

1. <?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:blogger='http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008' xmlns:georss='http://www.georss.org/georss' xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0'><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432</id><updated>2024-03-20T11:30:37.853+02:00</updated><category term="Palestinians"/><category term="Archive"/><category term="Hasbara"/><category term="Current"/><category term="International"/><category term="USA"/><title type='text'>Arguments For Israel</title><subtitle type='html'>Moved to https://www.arguments4israel.com/</subtitle><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/'/><link rel='hub' href='http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/'/><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default?start-index=26&amp;max-results=25'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>45</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-4962334362457167662</id><published>2016-08-12T12:39:00.000+03:00</published><updated>2016-08-19T17:45:02.394+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>Israel and the Inadmissibility of Territorial Acquisition by War</title><content type='html'>&lt;h1 dir=&quot;ltr&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-left: 144pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: right; text-indent: -144pt;&quot;&gt;
2. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #366091; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 13.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">12 August 2016</span></h1>
3. <h2 style="text-align: center;">
4. <span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Israel and the Inadmissibility of Territorial Acquisition by War</span></h2>
5. <h3 style="text-align: center;">
6. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Palestinian Self-Determination and UNSCR 242</span></h3>
7. <br />
8. <b id="docs-internal-guid-42d74c1d-97db-4cf8-07d3-455f0d23b26f" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Israel is widely accused of occupying territory that belongs to another people: the Palestinians.  This is considered immoral, oppressive and a violation of major principles of international law: </span></b><br />
9. <ul>
10. <li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war;</span></li>
11. <li style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">the denial of the Palestinian right of national self-determination. </span></li>
12. </ul>
13. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
14. <div style="text-align: justify;">
15. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Most famously expressed in UNSCR 242 of November 1967, the legal principle of the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war is often used to imply that Israel is bound to withdraw unilaterally from the territories captured in the 6-Day War.  In fact, UNSCR 242 made no such demand, although it could easily have done so if that was intended.  Therefore, if the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war is indeed a principle of international law, why did 242 not require Israeli withdrawal? </span></div>
16. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
17. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
18. </span>
19. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The ban on acquiring territory by war is derived from Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter, which states:</span><br />
20. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
21. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.</span></blockquote>
22. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
23. <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ibZi7gMml96bvZDQJgU2SPAcPWCG1ug0VQRdx-3i7_0/preview?pli=1" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b>Read more .. </b></a></div>
24. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/4962334362457167662'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/4962334362457167662'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2016/08/12-august-2016-israel-and.html' title='Israel and the Inadmissibility of Territorial Acquisition by War'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-6163169310321463738</id><published>2016-08-08T12:17:00.000+03:00</published><updated>2016-08-19T17:45:13.318+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>Israel’s Two Primary Messages </title><content type='html'>&lt;h1 dir=&quot;ltr&quot; style=&quot;margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 10pt;&quot;&gt;
25. <div style="text-align: right;">
26. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">08 August 2016</span><br />
27. <h2 style="text-align: center;">
28. <span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Israel’s Two Primary Messages </span></h2>
29. <div style="text-align: center;">
30. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify;">What Israel needs the international public to know</span></div>
31. </div>
32. </h1>
33. <div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
34. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Two core factors are missing from international understanding of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The chief of these is denial by the Palestinians and wider Arab world of the same rights of self-determination for Jews that they claim themselves. </span><br />
35. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
36. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In this view, Jews are a religious group only without national rights of self-determination. The PLO has maintained this position since its foundation. Abbas and other leading members of the PA, along with the Arab League, restate it endlessly – seeing only their own national movement as legitimate (see, <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P9-kFyjq6tTXtmjMg449q6p_mmGmLSl8jp4ySHLCKSs/preview?pli=1">The Israeli Demand that Palestinians Accept Israel as a Jewish State</a>).</span></div>
37. <div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
38. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />This is why no PA party, faction, militia or leader supports the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state. Nor have their Islamist rivals. This is an exclusive and supremacist view that believes there are no legitimate Jewish national rights on any part of what they consider Arab/Muslim land. On the West Bank, all PA political discourse, propaganda and education is based on this conviction.<br /><br />Therefore, the formula 2-State Solution can only be utilized by the PA as long as one state is Arab but the status of the other state is never accepted as Jewish. This is why the formula 2-States for 2-Peoples is always repudiated. As a result, insofar as Israel is considered as state, it is not recognized as Jewish and insofar as it is Jewish, it is not recognized as a state but dismissed as the Zionist entity. <br /><br />This refusal to a<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">ccept Jewish national rights demonstrates a determined purpose</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">:</span></span></div>
39. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
40. &lt;span style=&quot;color: #222222; font-family: &amp;quot;verdana&amp;quot;; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt; &lt;b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://docs.google.com/document/d/1fDVnBJsJOc1rHzFY-aOl2wwIJqpMRJpUZa4Nfw1b1-o/preview?pli=1&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Read more&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt; ...&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/6163169310321463738'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/6163169310321463738'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2016/08/08-august-2016-israels-two-primary.html' title='Israel’s Two Primary Messages '/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-7331362938057576880</id><published>2016-07-10T20:20:00.000+03:00</published><updated>2016-09-14T09:13:58.266+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="International"/><title type='text'>Israel’s EU Challenge</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
41. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">10 July 2016</span></div>
42. <h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;">
43. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #366091; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Israel’s EU Challenge</span></span></h1>
44. <h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;">
45. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #4f81bd; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Is effective hasbara possible?</span></span></h2>
46. <br />
47. <div style="text-align: justify;">
48. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
49. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
50. Israeli hasbara has an uphill struggle. In fact, some believe it has an impossible task; that the EU and others are so far advanced in their anti-Israel, anti-Semitic and pro-Palestinian sympathies that hasbara is a waste of time, effort and money. In this view, the usual instruments of persuasion, facts, reason and logic will fail because they will be trumped by political interests. That is, regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the EU and others are happy to swear that a penny is square.</div>
51. <div style="text-align: justify;">
52. <br /></div>
53. <div style="text-align: justify;">
54. In assessing this theory, the background assumption adopted is that the Palestinians are incapable of and unwilling to accept Israel as the nation-state of Jews or the legitimacy of Jewish nationalism. This is the driving force of the conflict. To put this less rigidly, Palestinian acceptance may be possible – but only on a distant and imaginary horizon. This means that the conflict has many years to run before a decisive victory or peaceful accommodation. </div>
55. <div style="text-align: justify;">
56. <br /></div>
57. <div style="text-align: justify;">
58. Therefore, on the basis of this war of attrition, the issue of how to persuade those such as the EU to be less hostile to Israel and less supportive of the Palestinians assumes a long-term impor<span style="text-align: justify;">tance. However, if the reasoning of the opening paragraph is accurate, the inevitable conclusion is that placing any reliance on more or better hasbara is doomed.</span></div>
59. </span><br />
60. <div style="text-align: justify;">
61. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
62. <div style="text-align: justify;">
63. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If two further propositions are added to the equation, these difficulties are compounded. The first is that Israel cannot somehow outsmart the EU, USA and others towards greater support. The second is that Israel does not possess the clout to coerce them into a more favorable position, to drop their opposition to settlements or their support for the PA and the Palestinian narrative.</span></div>
64. <div style="text-align: justify;">
65. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
66. <div style="text-align: justify;">
67. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This amounts to a significant predicament. Because in common with all human relations, institutions and agreements, international relations operate by a combination of consent and coercion. Therefore, the above reasoning produces the conclusion that these avenues are either useless or closed to Israel. If this is the case, the position for advancing Israel’s interests would be grim. And it is no wonder that desperate attempts periodically surface for a decisive breakout by means of a demonstrative unilateral action by Israel (see,<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/17tM2-GgOspKpVs5WKw0vFOUgmmA22eOBDyTSIt0PhRQ/preview?pli=1"> </a><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/17tM2-GgOspKpVs5WKw0vFOUgmmA22eOBDyTSIt0PhRQ/preview?pli=1">From Occupation to Annexation: a desperate miscalculation</a>).</span></div>
68. <br />
69. <h2 style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: justify;">
70. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #4f81bd; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A counter-perspective</span></h2>
71. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">Even if only partially true, this hypothesis means that outside an emergency ...</span><br />
72. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
73. </span>
74. <br />
75. <div style="text-align: justify;">
76. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.48px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
77. <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: medium; line-height: 18.48px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u3b2z-12ezjhUD8--DHiKUkomkPPPp1v1ov73ipYxhw/preview?pli=1" style="font-family: verdana; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Read more</a></span></div>
78. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
79. &lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/7331362938057576880'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/7331362938057576880'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2016/07/10-july-2016-israels-eu-challenge-is.html' title='Israel’s EU Challenge'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-5810438395017225274</id><published>2016-06-29T13:10:00.000+03:00</published><updated>2016-06-29T13:17:25.300+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>Naftali Bennett’s Dangerous Concession</title><content type='html'>&lt;div dir=&quot;ltr&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
80. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">29 June 2016</span></div>
81. <h2 style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;">
82. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #366091; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Naftali Bennett’s Dangerous Concession</span></span></h2>
83. <h3 style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;">
84. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #4f81bd; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">Annexation concedes West Bank does not belong to Israel</span></span></h3>
85. <b id="docs-internal-guid-28bf9def-9b9c-595e-0f94-9136e4e90265" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
86. <br />
87. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In his talk to the Shurat HaDin conference (21 June 2016), Naftali Bennett stated that PM Netanyahu’s Bar Ilan speech effectively conceded that the Territories did not belong to Israel although Israel had security needs there.  Bennett’s point was that if this was the case, it inevitably produced the objection that Israel should not build on land that did not belong to it.</span><div>
88. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
89. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Leaving aside that the Bar Ilan speech did not imply this, it does point to the fact that Bennett’s own policy of <b>annexation </b>is guilty of exactly the concession he accuses Netanyahu of making.  This is because it is impossible for a state to occupy or annex its own territory – at least, not in the sense of the standard international legal definition of occupation in <b>The Hague Regulations, 1907</b>, which concern relations between sovereign states rather than within a state.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">  </span></span></div>
90. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
91. For example, the USA cannot be said to occupy Massachusetts or Ohio.  Nor can it annex these states for the simple reason that it is already the <b>legitimate power</b> in those states (to use the phrasing of The Hague Regulations, article 43).  In other words, the term occupation refers to the control of territory not legally under the sovereignty of the occupying power.  And annexation refers to the <b>appropriation </b>of sovereignty by one state power from another.  In other words, a state can only annex territory that does not belong to it.</div>
92. <div style="text-align: justify;">
93. <br /></div>
94. <div style="text-align: justify;">
95. <b>Therefore, to accept that Israel occupies or should annex any part of The Territories effectively concedes the main argument of the Palestinians Israel. That is, it accepts that someone else was, is or should be the legitimate sovereign from which the territory was taken (albeit in legal self-defense) and continues to be held.</b></div>
96. <div style="text-align: justify;">
97. <br /></div>
98. </span><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 14pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
99. <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "wingdings"; line-height: 18.48px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: large;">1</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1TKnbcXTzRgfmJP7XxpPDBROsodl61pg99zeGPfwYNGE/preview?pli=1" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Read more</a><span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.6667px; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
100. <div>
101. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
102. </div>
103. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/5810438395017225274'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/5810438395017225274'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2016/06/naftali-bennetts-dangerous-concession.html' title='Naftali Bennett’s Dangerous Concession'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-1786169827339932995</id><published>2016-06-19T16:13:00.000+03:00</published><updated>2016-06-19T16:14:45.602+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="International"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>Inquiry into Anti-Semitism &amp;amp; Islamophobia among Labour Party Members, UK</title><content type='html'>&lt;br /&gt;
104. <div style="text-align: right;">
105. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">19 June 2016</span></div>
106. <h2 style="text-align: center;">
107. <span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Inquiry into Anti-Semitism & Islamophobia among Labour Party Members, UK</span></h2>
108. <br />
109. <div style="text-align: justify;">
110. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
111. <div style="text-align: justify;">
112. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As a former member of the UK Labour Party, now living in Israel, I am unable to contribute directly to the inquiry headed by Shami Chakrabarti, due to report in a few weeks.  Therefore, these brief comments take the form of an open letter.</span></div>
113. <div style="text-align: justify;">
114. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
115. <div style="text-align: justify;">
116. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The inquiry panel will probably understand the great interest that this issue has created in Israel.  The panel will also know of the alarm felt by many Jews in Britain and elsewhere that Jeremy Corbyn has associated himself with groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah who seek the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state.  These organizations explicitly and incessantly proclaim their genocidal anti-Semitism - the Hamas Charter is a spectacularly unhinged example. </span></div>
117. <div style="text-align: justify;">
118. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
119. <div style="text-align: justify;">
120. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It is beyond belief that this is not known to Jeremy Corbyn and likeminded figures within the Labour Party.  The explanation has been offered that expressions of solidarity with these organizations are for the purpose of encouraging peace in the Middle East.  In his meeting with Jonathan Arkush of the Jewish Board of Deputies (Feb 2016) Jeremy Corbyn gave assurance that the Labour Party position was that Israel had a right to exist within secure and recognized borders. </span></div>
121. <div style="text-align: justify;">
122. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
123. <div style="text-align: justify;">
124. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, these organizations have no interest in such an outcome.  Instead of being committed to a 2-State Solution, they are openly dedicated to the annihilation of Israel.  Therefore, if Jeremy Corbyn agrees that Israel has a right to exist, he would help ease Jewish anxiety and vulnerability if he gave an account of his progress in trying to get these organizations to agree to this position as the basis for a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.</span></div>
125. <br />
126. <div style="text-align: justify;">
127. <br /></div>
128. <br />
129. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: wingdings; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;1&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;a href=&quot;https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Al2hAIrqKPF-gzpXyt9dyLzmIfuGIQUWNhAOYtPN0o8/preview?pli=1&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;Read More &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/a&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/1786169827339932995'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/1786169827339932995'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2016/06/inquiry-into-anti-semitism-islamophobia.html' title='Inquiry into Anti-Semitism &amp;amp; Islamophobia among Labour Party Members, UK'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-8676567288127155264</id><published>2016-05-20T17:04:00.001+03:00</published><updated>2016-05-21T06:28:43.219+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="International"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>From Occupation to Annexation?</title><content type='html'>&lt;h1 dir=&quot;ltr&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
130. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #366091; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">20 May 2016</span></span></h1>
131. <h1 dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;">
132. <span style="font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 24px; line-height: 28.8px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #366091;">From Occupation to Annexation?</span></span></h1>
133. <h1 dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;">
134. <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Desperate Miscalculation</span></h1>
135. <b id="docs-internal-guid-96b8adb4-ce7b-5608-dda4-de9f12a1c760" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
136. <br />
137. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
138. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Formerly, calls for a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One-State Solution</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict were faintly disguised attempts to extinguish the only Jewish state in the world.  More recently, the idea of a One-State Solution has found sympathy in some Jewish-Israeli circles with the calls for the annexation of the West Bank – either completely or in part.  </span></div>
139. <b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
140. <br />
141. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
142. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Naturally, this raises questions of legality, morality and practicality.  These have scarcely been explored.  However, in his essay </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Resolution 242 Revisited</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> (2015), Eugene Kontorovich drew attention to the question of whether there is a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">legal right to annex</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> territory conquered and occupied in a legal war (assuming that the West Bank can be described as </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">occupied</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">).  His discussion of the </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">International Law Commission</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> draft and unratified</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">codes from 1949 and 1954, which seem to tilt in this direction, is interesting but inconclusive.  At best, it points to a definite-maybe or possible should-be.  More legal work is apparently required.</span></div>
143. <b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
144. <br />
145. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
146. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">However, after such a lengthy passage of time is there any good reason to expect an international consensus decisively favorable to annexation – especially with regard to such a contentious dispute?  Additionally, this would cut-across the more recently developed view that sovereignty does not reside with this or that state, government or ruler, but with the people.  As a result, the Palestinians are said to have both legal and moral rights to national self-determination which annexation would plainly prevent.  </span></div>
147. <br />
148. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In other words, from where we are now and from what we now know ....</span><br />
149. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
150. &lt;span style=&quot;color: #222222; font-family: &amp;quot;verdana&amp;quot;; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; font-family: &amp;quot;wingdings&amp;quot;; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: justify; white-space: normal;&quot;&gt;1&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; font-family: &amp;quot;verdana&amp;quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: justify; white-space: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;wingdings&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;verdana&amp;quot; , sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #3d85c6;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://docs.google.com/document/d/17tM2-GgOspKpVs5WKw0vFOUgmmA22eOBDyTSIt0PhRQ/preview?pli=1&quot; style=&quot;color: #214b7f; text-decoration: none;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #0b5394;&quot;&gt;Read more&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/8676567288127155264'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/8676567288127155264'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2016/05/from-occupation-to-annexation.html' title='From Occupation to Annexation?'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-5842760550962963778</id><published>2016-05-19T16:45:00.000+03:00</published><updated>2016-05-20T16:49:21.764+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><title type='text'>A Counter-Propaganda Project</title><content type='html'>&lt;h1 dir=&quot;ltr&quot; style=&quot;line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
151. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #366091; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Counter-Propaganda Project</span></h1>
152. <h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;">
153. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #4f81bd; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Message, Means and Method</span></h2>
154. <b id="docs-internal-guid-e2888df1-ce6a-0180-8a99-e6cb537c9fe7" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
155. <br />
156. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
157. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Three main questions are considered:</span></div>
158. <b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
159. <br />
160. <ol style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
161. <li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
162. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What should be Israel’s primary counter-propaganda messages?</span></div>
163. </li>
164. <li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
165. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By what means can they be delivered to VAST international audiences at negligible cost?</span></div>
166. </li>
167. <li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; list-style-type: decimal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
168. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What methods, techniques and organization are needed for effective delivery?</span></div>
169. </li>
170. </ol>
171. <b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
172. <br />
173. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
174. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1/     Israel’s Primary Messages</span></div>
175. <b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
176. <br />
177. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
178. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Facing a mass of anti-Israel propaganda, a process of sifting is required to identify and </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">focus</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> on the primary issues that will be the subject of Israel’s main messages.  To do this, the substance of accusations against Israel must be identified.  </span></div>
179. <b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
180. <br />
181. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
182. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In brief, large sections of the international media, academia, political elites and the general public believe that Israel occupies and builds settlements on land that does not belong to it but to the Palestinians.  This domination is condemned as illegal, brutal and unjustified.  In this view, the obvious solution is to establish a state in fulfillment of the humanitarian, moral and legal rights of Palestinian national self-determination.  By being seen as preventing this, Israel is blamed as the cause of the conflict and the obstacle to peace.  </span></div>
183. <br />
184. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These are the PRIMARY ISSUES that generate widespread </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">moral indignation</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.  They are powerful because ....</span><br />
185. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
186. &lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;verdana&amp;quot;; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: &amp;quot;wingdings&amp;quot;; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: justify; white-space: normal;&quot;&gt;1&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; font-family: &amp;quot;verdana&amp;quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: justify; white-space: normal;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;wingdings&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;verdana&amp;quot; , sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #3d85c6;&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://docs.google.com/document/d/116VcFs9fNQISmX_8NVBp8ZHqBOf7pbXAumHE1CiDJoI/preview?pli=1&quot; style=&quot;text-decoration: none;&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #0b5394;&quot;&gt;Read more&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/5842760550962963778'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/5842760550962963778'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2016/05/a-counter-propaganda-project.html' title='A Counter-Propaganda Project'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-1079504218303109494</id><published>2016-05-17T16:31:00.000+03:00</published><updated>2016-05-23T21:07:42.496+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="International"/><title type='text'>GAZA: The Only Solution Absent Again?</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
187. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #366091; font-family: "verdana"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">17 May 2016</span></div>
188. <h1 dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 10pt;">
189. </h1>
190. <h2 style="text-align: center;">
191. <span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">GAZA:  The Only Solution Absent Again</span></h2>
192. <h2 style="text-align: center;">
193. <span style="color: #4f81bd; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 17.3333px; line-height: 1.2; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cause for Humanitarian Concern</span></h2>
194. <div style="text-align: center;">
195. <span style="color: #222222; font-size: 18.6667px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 1.2; text-align: right; text-decoration: underline; white-space: pre-wrap;">PM Netanyahu Meets with Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende</span></div>
196. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 9.6pt; margin-top: 9.6pt; text-align: center;">
197. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)</span></div>
198. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 9.6pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 9.6pt; text-align: justify;">
199. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening (Tuesday, 3 May 2016), met with Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende.  The two discussed defeating Daesh in the region and the possibility of improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza while carefully meeting Israel's security needs.</span></div>
200. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 9.6pt; margin-left: 36pt; margin-top: 9.6pt; text-align: justify;">
201. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Prime Minister Netanyahu noted the State of Israel's role as an anchor of stability in the Middle East, which is vital to Europe's security.</span></div>
202. <b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
203. <br />
204. <h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 6pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: justify;">
205. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #4f81bd; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 17.333333333333332px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Queries to PM Media Adviser</span></h2>
206. <b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
207. <br />
208. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
209. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1/    Did they discuss what the Norwegian government could do to produce the only real solution to the humanitarian situation in Gaza - a government in Gaza not dedicated to war and the annihilation of Israel?</span></div>
210. <br />
211. <br />
212. &lt;span style=&quot;color: #222222; font-family: &amp;quot;verdana&amp;quot;; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;2/ &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Did they discuss what the Norwegian government can do to ensure that Norwegians understand the aim of Hamas and its &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #222222; font-family: &amp;quot;verdana&amp;quot;; font-size: 14.6667px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt;Charter&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #222222; font-family: &amp;quot;verdana&amp;quot;; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;&quot;&gt; of destroying Israel?&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/1079504218303109494'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/1079504218303109494'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2016/05/17-may-2015-gaza-only-solution-absent.html' title='GAZA: The Only Solution Absent Again?'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-6989022009868287613</id><published>2016-04-30T07:03:00.000+03:00</published><updated>2016-05-23T21:00:25.243+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>The PMO Statement on the French Initiative</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
213. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">30 April 2016</span></div>
214. <h2 style="text-align: center;">
215. <span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">The PMO Statement on the French Initiative</span></h2>
216. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
217. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“Israel adheres to its position that the best way to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is direct, bilateral negotiations.  Israel is ready to begin them immediately without preconditions.  Any other diplomatic initiative distances the Palestinians from direct negotiations.”   (28 April 2016)</span></blockquote>
218. <br />
219. <h3>
220. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My Comment</span></h3>
221. <div style="text-align: justify;">
222. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This restatement of the Israel’s position is absolutely necessary.  </span></div>
223. <div style="text-align: justify;">
224. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
225. <div style="text-align: justify;">
226. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But the occasion of the French Initiative also presents an opportunity to focus attention on issues that Israel needs the international public to understand. Additionally, it provides a marvelous opportunity to direct a call-for-action to states attending the Initiative to address the roots of the conflict and pursue the following measures as the only basis for a successful win-win solution.</span></div>
227. <div style="text-align: justify;">
228. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
229. <div style="text-align: justify;">
230. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Call for action 1 – the international community to reverse the following:</b></span></div>
231. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
232. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">1/     the refusal of the Palestinians (and the wider Arab world) to accept Israel as the nation-state of Jews;</span><br />
233. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
234. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">2/     the rejection by the Palestinians of 2-states for 2-peoples as an end to the conflict;</span><br />
235. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
236. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">3/     their refusal to accept the legitimacy of Jewish legal and historic links to the region or Jewish national rights.</span><br />
237. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
238. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Call for action 2 – the international community to secure the following:</b></span><br />
239. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
240. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bZZynpClVOIjyFTI4l_L_8KU_AqaLLSR8DQSu8IsNo8/preview?=pl1" target="_blank">Read more</a></b></span><br />
241. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
242. &lt;span style=&quot;background-color: white; font-family: &amp;quot;verdana&amp;quot; , sans-serif; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: justify;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;wingdings&amp;quot;;&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;font-family: &amp;quot;verdana&amp;quot; , sans-serif;&quot;&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/6989022009868287613'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/6989022009868287613'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2016/04/the-pmo-statement-on-french-initiative.html' title='The PMO Statement on the French Initiative'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-4069147404352906153</id><published>2015-10-16T13:26:00.000+03:00</published><updated>2016-05-20T10:21:39.409+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>Does Israel Need to Convince the Palestinians That It Wants Peace?</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
243. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">16 October 2015</span></div>
244. <h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 10pt; text-align: center;">
245. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #366091; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 700; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Does Israel Need to Convince the Palestinians That It Wants Peace?</span></h1>
246. <h2 style="text-align: center;">
247. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-7f67f78d-cd09-48df-3015-8f0119462b52" style="font-weight: normal;"></span>Shlomo Aveniri and the Two-State Solution</span></h2>
248. <div style="text-align: justify;">
249. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">How to convince the Palestinians – and much of the rest of the world - that Israel wants peace is a question that stands behind the thinking of many Israelis who occupy the political center or center-left.  Numerous friends of Israel internationally also ask the same question. </span></div>
250. <div style="text-align: justify;">
251. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
252. <div style="text-align: justify;">
253. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Various answers are provided.  For example, Israel could show goodwill and seriousness by releasing more prisoners and halting settlement construction.  Other proposals involve unilateral withdrawals by Israel.  Marc Goldberg, a regular columnist with the Times of Israel and Harry’s Place, wants to withdraw all Israeli civilians from the West Bank and leave the IDF in place to prevent disorder and terror.  If order ensues, this will be followed by IDF withdrawals and the handover of larger areas of control to the PA.</span></div>
254. <div style="text-align: justify;">
255. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
256. <div style="text-align: justify;">
257. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This is a variation of the approach proposed by Ami Ayalon in Israel and Cary Nelson in the USA, for a unilateral phased withdrawal from the West Bank.  Each successive phase of the withdrawal will be contingent on a peaceful Palestinian response to the previous phase.  The aim is to withdraw in this manner from up to 85% of the West Bank, by which time, assuming good Palestinian behavior, the situation would be ready for a 2-State Solution to the conflict (for a full-scale destruction of this perspective, see <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/13_1Wrux9NSDGoa1ht-G80wTzf988jsMjwOkvrhHW0L0/preview?pli=1">How Not to Rescue the 2-State Solution</a>).</span></div>
258. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
259. <br />
260. <h3>
261. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small;">An Alternative Question</span></h3>
262. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />Revealingly,</span><br />
263. <div>
264. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
265. <br />
266. <div>
267. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
268. <div>
269. <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "wingdings"; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: justify;">1</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "wingdings";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span><b><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1faezfqPqmAxSa0yTXYKUHvRw32Zj2XmRisBcgcfTLdA/preview?pli=1" target="_blank">Read more</a></b></span></span></span></div>
270. </div>
271. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/4069147404352906153'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/4069147404352906153'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2015/10/how-can-israel-convince-palestinians.html' title='Does Israel Need to Convince the Palestinians That It Wants Peace?'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-3381964698775371663</id><published>2015-10-08T19:36:00.001+03:00</published><updated>2015-10-09T07:09:54.180+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="International"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>Islamic Wars and Palestinians</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
272. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">8 October 2015</span></div>
273. <h2 style="text-align: center;">
274. <span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Islamic Wars and the Palestinians</span></h2>
275. <h3 style="text-align: center;">
276. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lies, Damned Lies and Taqiyya</span></h3>
277. <div style="text-align: justify;">
278. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
279. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The current eruption of murderous attacks on Jews over the issue of the Temple Mount is causing speculation about a third intifada. It also provokes Jewish despair at the blatant lies of the PA leadership – and the repetition of Palestinian propaganda by much of the international media. The mixture of Islamism and Arab nationalism, neither of which accepts Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, continues to be the driving force of the conflict. </span></div>
280. <div>
281. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
282. <br />
283. <div>
284. <div style="text-align: justify;">
285. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As a fundamental factor, Islam divides the world into the Dar al-Islam (the House of Islam) and Dar al-Harb (the House of War) which is under the rule of Dar al-Kufr (the House of the Unbeliever).  Apart from temporary treaties, war is permanent.  A significant product of this idea is that anyone leaving Islam is seen exactly as we view someone siding with an enemy in war: as a traitor. </span></div>
286. </div>
287. <br />
288. <div style="text-align: justify;">
289. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
290. <div style="text-align: justify;">
291. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do all or the great bulk of Muslims think this? I've no idea. But in the UK I slightly knew someone who was a noted Catholic theologian. He would sigh in amused dismay at the distance between the beliefs of the Catholic hierarchy and himself and those of many of his fellow churchgoers. So it wouldn't be a surprise to find something similar in Islam.  Not everyone is a theologian. </span></div>
292. <div style="text-align: justify;">
293. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
294. <div style="text-align: justify;">
295. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, with Catholicism, no-one can be forced to adhere to it any longer and there are lots of alternatives for those who don't like it.  And anyone who prefers something else can denounce the Pope as the anti-Christ (or whatever) as loudly as they wish without fear of being burned at the stake.  Alas, we know that in Arab states the public criticism of Islam is impossible and changing religion very dangerous.  Therefore, as a generalization, Islamic intolerance has a far greater hold on minds and behaviors than, for example, modern western Christianity.</span></div>
296. <br />
297. <div style="text-align: justify;">
298. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">1</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Wingdings';"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yGyUrHn7jrmG61znSS8IH1G1WKPGZLVjrcWaYfomh9w/preview?pli=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Read more</b></span></a></span></span></span></div>
299. </div>
300. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/3381964698775371663'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/3381964698775371663'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2015/10/islamic-wars-and-palestinians.html' title='Islamic Wars and Palestinians'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-6826325280766328858</id><published>2015-07-25T17:53:00.001+03:00</published><updated>2015-07-25T19:32:30.968+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>How to Cure a Disastrous Self-inflicted Diplomatic Wound</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
301. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">July 25 2015</span></div>
302. <h2 style="text-align: center;">
303. <span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>How to Cure a Disastrous Self-Inflicted Diplomatic Wound</b></span></h2>
304. <h3 style="text-align: center;">
305. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Hidden Dilemma of Final Status Negotiations</b></span></h3>
306. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
307. <br />
308. <div style="text-align: justify;">
309. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Currently, the issue of negotiations with the Palestinians is not at the forefront of diplomatic activity and there is no indication that negotiations are imminent. PA President Abbas has set preconditions for talks which are unacceptable to Israel and this makes PM Netanyahu’s offer of talks without preconditions unacceptable to the Palestinians.  </span></div>
310. <div style="text-align: justify;">
311. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
312. <div style="text-align: justify;">
313. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But neither party can be confident that this diplomatic limbo will last forever.  </span></div>
314. <div style="text-align: justify;">
315. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Outside pressures will once again provide the key impetus to renewed talks. Israel will then be subject to a major hidden obstacle that will completely nullify any diplomatic advantage expected by its participation. </span></div>
316. <div style="text-align: justify;">
317. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">  </span></div>
318. <div style="text-align: justify;">
319. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The hidden obstacle is that years of peace talks, interim agreements, on-off negotiations, recriminations over settlements, disputes over land-swaps, prisoner releases, and so on, have all reinforced the idea that a win-win approach to resolving the conflict is normal and possible.  As a result, the Palestinian rejection of the Jewish state is obscured from view.  Yet this is the rock against which all peace attempts crash.  </span></div>
320. <div style="text-align: justify;">
321. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
322. <div style="text-align: justify;">
323. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Therefore, by participating in final status talks as if the PA, or any other Palestinian body, were willing or able to agree to the necessary compromise to end the conflict, Israel’s diplomacy has the disastrous effect of hiding the Palestinian zero-sum approach behind the appearance of a win-win process. This conceals from the international public that the Palestinian/Arab rejection is the driving force of the conflict and the insurmountable obstacle to a genuine 2-state solution (see <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P9-kFyjq6tTXtmjMg449q6p_mmGmLSl8jp4ySHLCKSs/preview?pli=1" target="_blank">The Israeli Demand That Palestinians Accept Israel as a Jewish State</a>).  </span></div>
324. <div style="text-align: justify;">
325. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
326. <div style="text-align: justify;">
327. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This appearance is compounded by the inevitable failure of the fake final status talks.  Without producing an agreement for a full Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank or an agreement for a Palestinian state, the widespread belief is reinforced that Israel is to blame for denying Palestinian self-determination.  As a result, Israel is viewed as the obstacle to peace.  This solidifies international hostility, fosters criticism of Israel from the Jewish diaspora and fuels BDS activities. </span></div>
328. <div style="text-align: justify;">
329. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
330. <br />
331. <div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 1; word-spacing: 0px;">
332. </div>
333. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">1</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Wingdings';"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1o9RJFC9LPxO8CTwKdmHK5sxLp2qlbLACBSGkLh6mVr8/preview?pli=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Read more</b></span></a></span></span></span></div>
334. <div style="text-align: justify;">
335. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
336. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/6826325280766328858'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/6826325280766328858'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2015/07/how-to-cure-disastrous-self-inflicted.html' title='How to Cure a Disastrous Self-inflicted Diplomatic Wound'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-7529511165130675277</id><published>2015-07-10T12:43:00.000+03:00</published><updated>2016-05-20T17:13:48.763+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>The Folly of Coordinated-Unilateral Withdrawal</title><content type='html'>&lt;h2 style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
337. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: small; font-weight: normal;">10 July 2015</span></h2>
338. <h2 style="text-align: center;">
339. <span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Folly of 'Coordinated-Unilateral Withdrawal</span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">'</span></h2>
340. <h3>
341. <div style="text-align: center;">
342. <span style="color: #6fa8dc; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">How Not to Rescue the Two-State Solution </span></div>
343. </h3>
344. <div style="text-align: justify;">
345. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
346. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">By inviting comments to Cary Nelson’s essay A Proposal to Rescue the 2-State Solution, Fathom Journal (Issue 10, July 2015) has surely provided a useful forum for exploring and clarifying what is possible and not possible in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  In response, a slightly abbreviated version of the following article was submitted to the journal.  </span></div>
347. <div style="text-align: justify;">
348. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
349. <div style="text-align: justify;">
350. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The essence of the proposed plan is that in the absence of a final status agreement, there should be a series of major unilateral Israeli withdrawals from the West Bank.  The hope is for both sides to agree that each party would make moves that the other accepts to be part of any final status agreement.  Failing that, the tacit approval of the parties would be sufficient.  This means that each phase of the withdrawal would depend on positive reactions to the previous withdrawal.  </span></div>
351. <div style="text-align: justify;">
352. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
353. <div style="text-align: justify;">
354. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Cary Nelson envisages that this unusual process, which he terms coordinated-unilateralism, will initially result in around 85% of the West Bank being handed to the Palestinians.  Further Israeli withdrawals will be dependent on a final status agreement with the final border based potentially on the Security Barrier.  His hope and belief is that this series of unprecedented withdrawals will encourage trust and momentum towards the 2-State Solution.</span></div>
355. <div style="text-align: justify;">
356. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">  </span></div>
357. <div style="text-align: justify;">
358. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">These and similar ideas are also in circulation in Israel.  For example, Ami Ayalon, the former commander of the Israeli navy, former head of Shin Bet and former MK, featured in the documentary film The Gatekeepers, is a prominent advocate. </span></div>
359. <div style="text-align: justify;">
360. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
361. <div style="text-align: justify;">
362. <h4 style="text-align: start;">
363. <span style="font-family: "wingdings";">1</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "wingdings";"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q72Xc_cANY677oE8G8ggwyEsrufIVJP5vfKCiLcS5tQ/preview?pli=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;">Read more</span></a></span></span></span></h4>
364. </div>
365. <div style="text-align: justify;">
366. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
367. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/7529511165130675277'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/7529511165130675277'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2015/07/2015-07-10-proposal-to-rescue-two-state.html' title='The Folly of Coordinated-Unilateral Withdrawal'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-4648445288857879415</id><published>2015-06-29T10:00:00.000+03:00</published><updated>2015-06-30T18:09:41.599+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="International"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>Protecting Israel&#39;s Blockade of Gaza</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
368. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">29 June 2015</span></div>
369. <h2 style="text-align: center;">
370. <span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Protecting Israel’s Blockade of Gaza</span></h2>
371. <h3 style="text-align: center;">
372. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Legal Rules and Israel’s Hasbara</span></h3>
373. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
374. <br />
375. <div style="text-align: justify;">
376. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The new flotilla of ships from Sweden and elsewhere, currently attempting to breech Israel’s efforts to stop war-material reaching Hamas, will provide Israel with enormous diplomatic and hasbara opportunities.  These will be primarily in the areas for the promotion of Israel’s legal rights and opportunities to shift public perceptions of Israeli blame onto the Palestinians. </span></div>
377. <div style="text-align: justify;">
378. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
379. <div style="text-align: justify;">
380. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Israel’s legal rights to act in international waters against attempts to break a lawful blockade are specific.  They include the legal permission to stop, search, divert, seize and even attack ships attempting to breech the blockade. </span></div>
381. <div style="text-align: justify;">
382. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
383. <div style="text-align: justify;">
384. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, 1994 provides:</span></div>
385. <div style="text-align: justify;">
386. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
387. <div style="text-align: justify;">
388. <h4 style="text-align: start;">
389. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">1</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Wingdings';"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/16IDIf_YOOou1cPfOPjEI5BmPoTqFjFTK08vCgDgj9g4/preview?pli=1#" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;">Read more</span></a></span></span></span></h4>
390. </div>
391. <div>
392. <br /></div>
393. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/4648445288857879415'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/4648445288857879415'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2015/06/protecting-israels-blockade-of-gaza.html' title='Protecting Israel&#39;s Blockade of Gaza'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-122705970833691220</id><published>2015-06-18T15:09:00.001+03:00</published><updated>2015-06-22T17:36:05.440+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>How Israel Can Benefit Diplomatically from the Dissolution of the Palestinian Unity Government</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
394. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> 18 June 2015</span></div>
395. <div style="text-align: right;">
396. <br /></div>
397. <h2 style="text-align: center;">
398. <span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">How Israel Can Benefit Diplomatically from the Dissolution of the Palestinian Unity Government</span></h2>
399. <div style="text-align: center;">
400. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
401. <div style="text-align: justify;">
402. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">With the end of the PA-Hamas ‘government’, we can now expect greater international pressure on Israel to embark again on the ‘peace-process’ with the PA.  Indeed, only recently PM Netanyahu announced a readiness for such talks.  This may have been advantageous from an image point of view.  But it also involves a serious difficulty which can easily be rectified.  </span><br />
403. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
404. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The difficulty is that simply agreeing to peace-process negotiations with the PA creates a false impression.  This severely damages Israel by fostering the incorrect belief that a win-win solution to the conflict is possible.  Yet as long as the Palestinians refuse to accept Israel as a Jewish state, and to deny 2 states for 2 peoples, there can be no implementation of the favorite solution of the international community – the 2-state solution.</span><br />
405. <div>
406. <br /></div>
407. </div>
408. <br />
409. <br />
410. <h3>
411. <span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A diplomatic own-goal</span></h3>
412. <br />
413. <br />
414. <div style="text-align: justify;">
415. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That is, agreeing to talks as if a win-win solution to the conflict were feasible in these circumstances obscures from view the zero-sum/winner-takes-all strategy of the Palestinians.   As a result, this remains the unseen driving force of the conflict (see <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yqELL8QtO6yMAchJi8yPDzXOP9eH38iXsOLztG3rqv8/preview?pli=1">Abbas’ Cairo Interview</a> and <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P9-kFyjq6tTXtmjMg449q6p_mmGmLSl8jp4ySHLCKSs/preview?pli=1">The Israeli Demand that Palestinians Accept Israel as a Jewish State </a>).</span></div>
416. <div style="text-align: justify;">
417. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
418. <div style="text-align: justify;">
419. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Without this being clear, those who profess to believe that peace will only be achieved by an Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank will continue to blame Israel for not agreeing to withdraw.  Israel’s diplomatic approach is thus a key element that reinforces the belief that Israel is yet again to blame for the inevitable failure of any talks. </span></div>
420. <div style="text-align: justify;">
421. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
422. <div style="text-align: justify;">
423. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In other words, the continued lack of international awareness of the Palestinian refusal to accept Israel as a Jewish state is in part due to Israel’s own international diplomatic stance.  This in turn is reflected in its non-existent public diplomacy on this core issue.</span><br />
424. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
425. <br />
426. <h3>
427. <span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Solving the problem</span></h3>
428. <br />
429. <div style="text-align: justify;">
430. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Therefore, a better response is to ...</span><br />
431. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
432. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
433. <div style="text-align: justify;">
434. <h4 style="text-align: start;">
435. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">1</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Wingdings';"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/11bjv2xJ6c6Yr1n6IPPBT9nmLtrgGJ-StuwnZh7QcV6E/preview?pli=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;">Read more</span></a></span></span></span></h4>
436. </div>
437. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/122705970833691220'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/122705970833691220'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2015/06/how-israel-can-benefit-diplomatically.html' title='How Israel Can Benefit Diplomatically from the Dissolution of the Palestinian Unity Government'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-6502159063129873276</id><published>2015-04-05T18:54:00.000+03:00</published><updated>2015-04-07T08:28:08.246+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="USA"/><title type='text'>Elections and the Shell-Shocked ‘Left’</title><content type='html'>&lt;h2 style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;
438. <span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Elections and the Shell-Shocked Left</span></h2>
439. <h3 style="text-align: center;">
440. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Dangerous Mizrachi Red-Herring</span></h3>
441. <div>
442. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />
443. </span></div>
444. <div style="text-align: justify;">
445. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Currently, it looks as if it may prove harder to form the new coalition government than expected.  This will provide at least some uplift to the spirits of the Center-Left which is still in a state of shock. </span></div>
446. <div style="text-align: justify;">
447. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
448. </span></div>
449. <div style="text-align: justify;">
450. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The election result obviously disappointed and dismayed many – especially in the media.   As a result, many have been casting about for a scape-goat.  This turns out to be voters of a Mizrachi background.  They are variously supposed to be too hostile to the Arabs to appreciate the finer points of genuine peace-mongering, or too poor or uneducated to understand that by voting for Bibi they were voting against their own interests. </span></div>
451. <div style="text-align: justify;">
452. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
453. </span></div>
454. <div style="text-align: justify;">
455. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This reminded me of a talk I attended many years ago in the UK given by James Klugmann.  James was one of the brilliant group of Cambridge communists associated with the spies Philby, Burgess and others before the Second World War.  He was also a marvelous lecturer.  Almost everyone who met him immediately called him James (his name was actually Norman). </span></div>
456. <div style="text-align: justify;">
457. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
458. </span></div>
459. <div style="text-align: justify;">
460. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In this particular talk, his purpose was to answer the question of why the then British Prime Minister, the Labour leader Harold Wilson, was such a failure and had betrayed the working class yet again.  Klugmann said he had asked this question at an earlier version of the talk and a voice in the audience had shouted, '<i>because he's a bastard</i>'.  Klugmann responded that while this theory certainly had its attraction, he wasn't entirely sure it satisfied as an explanation.</span><br />
461. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
462. </span> <br />
463. <h4 style="text-align: start;">
464. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">1</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Wingdings';"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1pJMC2K8dFwbPk1VrB_1a3orhBVRpzR4csvgym5CRj7c/preview?pli=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;">Read more</span></a></span></span></span></h4>
465. </div>
466. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/6502159063129873276'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/6502159063129873276'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2015/04/elections-and-shell-shocked-left.html' title='Elections and the Shell-Shocked ‘Left’'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-4715568639522297499</id><published>2015-03-08T21:10:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2015-03-12T11:39:34.728+02:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>Loading the Legal Dice against Israel</title><content type='html'>&lt;div&gt;
467. <div style="text-align: right;">
468. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">08 March 2015</span><br />
469. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
470. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
471. </span></div>
472. <h2 style="text-align: center;">
473. <span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Loading the Legal Dice against Israel</span></h2>
474. <h3 style="text-align: center;">
475. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Core Legal Deceptions of Israel’s Opponents</span></h3>
476. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
477. <br />
478. <h2>
479. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>1. The Framework of Deceit</b></span></h2>
480. <br />
481. <div style="text-align: justify;">
482. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Legally framed attacks on Israel by critics and enemies feature prominently in the international mass media with propaganda hostile to Israel.  Repeated by political leaders, commentators and at every opportunity by the Palestinians, their claims have become more or less standard ‘truisms’:</span></div>
483. <br />
484. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. The West Bank is occupied; <br /><br />2. The occupied West Bank is Palestinian territory; <br /><br />3. The border of the Occupied Palestinian Territory is the 1949 Armistice Line between Jordanian and Israeli military forces: the Green Line; <br /><br />4. The Jewish communities inside the Green Line are illegal under international law;<br /><br />5. Israel is required to withdraw from the West Bank. </span><br />
485. <div>
486. <div>
487. <div>
488. <br />
489. <div style="text-align: justify;">
490. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet all this has been almost without public challenge by Israel’s hasbara.   This has created the impression that Israel has no adequate response to the accusations and that it is guilty as accused.   As a result, the allegations have been widely and uncritically accepted as established truth. </span></div>
491. <div style="text-align: justify;">
492. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">  </span></div>
493. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A ‘key feature’ of these accusations is that they are conducted in a very peculiar way.   The dice are loaded against Israel by a major deception.</span><br />
494. <div>
495. <h4>
496. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;"><br /></span></h4>
497. <h4>
498. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">1</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Wingdings';"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gTRmCQyimXWlHXWtx6SKNYHMFPPEGZR7HzPIyz8pXc4/preview?pli=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;">Read more</span></a></span></span></span></h4>
499. </div>
500. </div>
501. </div>
502. </div>
503. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/4715568639522297499'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/4715568639522297499'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2015/03/08-march-2015-loading-legal-dice.html' title='Loading the Legal Dice against Israel'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-1451767751296442717</id><published>2015-01-15T20:15:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2015-03-12T13:37:31.739+02:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="International"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>The Israeli Demand that Palestinians Accept Israel as a Jewish State</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
504. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">15 January 2015</span></div>
505. <h2>
506. </h2>
507. <div style="text-align: center;">
508. <h2>
509. <br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #073763;">The Israeli Demand that Palestinians Accept Israel as a Jewish State</span></span></h2>
510. </div>
511. <div style="text-align: center;">
512. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Why the Deal-Maker for Israel is the Deal-Breaker for the Palestinians - and Vice Versa</b></span></span></div>
513. <div style="text-align: center;">
514. <br /></div>
515. <h2>
516. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Part 1 Reut and wrong</b></span></h2>
517. <div style="text-align: justify;">
518. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gidi Grinstein is founder and CEO of the Re’ut Institute of Tel Aviv. The great thing about his article Israel as the <b>Nation State of the Jewish People / Palestine as the Nation State of the Palestinian People</b> (Re’ut-Institute website), is that it takes as its subject the crucial issue at the heart of the Israeli conflict with the Arabs. The not-so-great-thing is that it does this with a shallow analysis that trivializes and distorts a serious matter.</span></div>
519. <div style="text-align: justify;">
520. <br /></div>
521. <div style="text-align: justify;">
522. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The issue is the Israeli requirement that the Palestinians recognize Israel as the nation state of the Jewish People.   Prime Minister Netanyahu has regularly made this the fundamental building block of any 2-State Solution.  For example:</span></div>
523. <br />
524. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
525. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>There will be no Palestinian state before the state of Israel is recognized as the Jewish people’s state, and there will be no Palestinian state before the Palestinians declare an end to the conflict.</i></span> </blockquote>
526. <div style="text-align: right;">
527. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(Y.net.com 02/12/2012)</span></div>
528. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Gidi Grinstein finds that this Israeli demand is:</span><br />
529. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
530. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>a just one, yet non-essential, and therefore unnecessary.</i>  </span></blockquote>
531. <div style="text-align: justify;">
532. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, he supports this view with some silly arguments. Yet, Gidi Grinstein is both smart and substantial.  Therefore, his use of explanations that trivialize the issue is worrying.  For example, he says this:  </span></div>
533. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
534. </span><br />
535. <h4>
536. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">1</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Wingdings';"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1P9-kFyjq6tTXtmjMg449q6p_mmGmLSl8jp4ySHLCKSs/preview?pli=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;">Read more</span></a></span><br />
537. </span></span></h4>
538. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/1451767751296442717'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/1451767751296442717'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2015/01/15-january-2015-israeli-demand-that.html' title='The Israeli Demand that Palestinians Accept Israel as a Jewish State'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-7491710858544471544</id><published>2014-12-12T13:00:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2015-06-22T17:07:32.189+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Current"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="International"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>Abbas&#39; Cairo Interview: The Demise of Israel: Hidden in Plain Sight</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
539. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">12 December 2014</span></div>
540. <div style="text-align: right;">
541. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
542. </span></div>
543. <h1 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.1500000000000001; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
544. <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #073763; font-size: x-large;">ABBAS’ CAIRO INTERVIEW</span></span></h1>
545. <h2 dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.1500000000000001; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
546. <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;">The Demise of Israel:  Hidden in Plain Sight</span></span></h2>
547. <div style="text-align: justify;">
548. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are three quotations from the interview given by PLO appointed Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the Egyptian newspaper ‘Akhbar Al-Yawm’ on 30 November 2014</span>.</div>
549. <div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
550. <br />
551. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
552. <i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Israel must recognize the June 4, 1967 border.</span></i></blockquote>
553. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
554. <i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We cannot recognize a Jewish state.</span></i></blockquote>
555. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
556. <i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are six million refugees who wish to return, and by the way, I am one of them.</span></i></blockquote>
557. <div style="text-align: right;">
558. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-small; line-height: 1; white-space: pre-wrap;">(MEMRI 05 Dec 2014 Special Dispatch 5898)</span></span></div>
559. </div>
560. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><br />
561. </span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">The occasion was the meeting of the Arab League on the previous day in Cairo where the Arab League restated its position as:</span><br />
562. <div style="text-align: justify;">
563. <br /></div>
564. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
565. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>categorical rejection of recognizing Israel as a Jewish state</i></span></blockquote>
566. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
567. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Al-Ahram online 29 Nov 2014) </span></span><br />
568. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
569. </span></span></div>
570. <div style="text-align: justify;">
571. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These terms were almost identical to a statement by the 22-member body made earlier in the year when the Council of the Arab League stated that it:</span></div>
572. <div style="text-align: justify;">
573. <br /></div>
574. <blockquote class="tr_bq">
575. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i>emphasizes its rejection of recognizing Israel as a ‘Jewish state’ </i></span></blockquote>
576. <div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: right;">
577. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #222222; font-family: Verdana; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Al-Jazeera online 09 Mar 2014)</span></span></div>
578. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The same Al- Jazeera article observed that:</span><br />
579. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
580. <br />
581. <h4 style="text-align: start;">
582. <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">1</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Wingdings';"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yqELL8QtO6yMAchJi8yPDzXOP9eH38iXsOLztG3rqv8/preview?pli=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;">Read more</span></a></span></span></span></h4>
583. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/7491710858544471544'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/7491710858544471544'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2014/12/abbas-cairo-interview-demise-of-israel.html' title='Abbas&#39; Cairo Interview: The Demise of Israel: Hidden in Plain Sight'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-7494387241184743397</id><published>2014-08-16T19:01:00.000+03:00</published><updated>2016-05-21T06:31:49.270+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Archive"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>B’tselem and the Martians Part 2</title><content type='html'>&lt;h2&gt;
584. </h2>
585. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
586. <div style="text-align: right;">
587. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">16 August 2014</span></div>
588. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">
589. </span>
590. <br />
591. <div style="text-align: center;">
592. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #073763; font-size: x-large;">B’tselem and the Martians (2) </span></b></span></div>
593. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>
594. </b></span>
595. <br />
596. <div>
597. <div style="text-align: center;">
598. <b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;">The Gaza War and Hamas</span></b></div>
599. <div>
600. <br /></div>
601. <div style="text-align: justify;">
602. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In Part 1 it was suggested that whereas the Martians were only able to see one of the parties to a conflict due to an equipment malfunction, B’tselem has no such excuse. Its failure to see is a product of downplaying or ignoring what it prefers not to see. </span></div>
603. <div style="text-align: justify;">
604. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
605. <div style="text-align: justify;">
606. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As an illustration of this, Part 1 noted that the B’tselem website covers the conflict in Gaza with only a single article devoted to Hamas out of 15 front-page articles (on 11 August 2014). This briefly comments that the Hamas practice of firing rockets from civilian areas in Gaza into civilian areas in Israel is ”morally and legally reprehensible” – but apparently this is not illegal or criminal for B’tselem.</span></div>
607. <div style="text-align: justify;">
608. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
609. <div style="text-align: justify;">
610. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Given the unrelenting blame heaped upon Israel by B’tselem elsewhere on its website with a variety of accusations of criminal activity, it is hard to view this mild rebuke as other than a mere token.   Presumably, its inclusion is intended to provide at least some appearance of 'balance' in its criticism.</span></div>
611. <div style="text-align: justify;">
612. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
613. </span></div>
614. <div style="text-align: justify;">
615. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">How else to explain that nowhere in the article, or elsewhere in its coverage of the war, or elsewhere on the B’tselem website, is there any mention that Hamas is a murderous anti-Semitic terrorist organization dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the slaughter of as many Jews as possible?     </span></div>
616. <div style="text-align: justify;">
617. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
618. </span></div>
619. <div style="text-align: justify;">
620. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Typically, this is also absent from the coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by the mainstream mass media.   But why would B’tselem want to hide it?   Is it such an irrelevance that it can be ignored?   Or is it information critical to understanding the conflict?   </span></div>
621. <div>
622. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
623. </span></div>
624. <div>
625. <h4>
626. <span style="font-family: "wingdings";">1</span> <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ySS41QJxx3ZAnKLL3J0Vy6TfpGTRU7eJMoVc5zwltPE/preview?pli=1" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;">Read more</span></a></h4>
627. </div>
628. </div>
629. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/7494387241184743397'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/7494387241184743397'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2014/08/btselem-and-martians-part-2.html' title='B’tselem and the Martians Part 2'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-831158137937516782</id><published>2014-08-14T18:34:00.000+03:00</published><updated>2016-05-21T06:32:06.137+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Archive"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>B’tselem and the Martians Part 1</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
630. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">14 August  2014</span></div>
631. <h2>
632. </h2>
633. <h2>
634. <div style="text-align: center;">
635. <h2>
636. <span style="color: #073763; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">B’tselem and the Martians (1)</span></h2>
637. <h2>
638. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Gaza War and Hamas</span></h2>
639. </div>
640. </h2>
641. <div style="text-align: justify;">
642. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Shortly after writing the previous blog entry (How Many Civilian Casualties in Gaza?) a link to the website of B’tselem arrived from a friend.   This devotes many articles to the damage and casualties in Gaza.   Possibly, the sender meant them as an antidote to my article.   Instead, it reminded me of a story I heard many years ago.</span></div>
643. <div style="text-align: justify;">
644. <br /></div>
645. <div style="text-align: justify;">
646. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This was not long after the BBC’s monopoly of British television was broken by ITV.   One of the innovations of ITV was the introduction of wrestling into sports programs.   Much of this was the sham, entertainment-type of wrestling - far too vulgar for the BBC.   </span></div>
647. <div style="text-align: justify;">
648. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
649. </span></div>
650. <div style="text-align: justify;">
651. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One day, as the wrestling was being shown; earth was visited by beings from space – almost certainly Martians.   While circling the earth, their receivers somehow picked up the wrestling transmissions.  </span></div>
652. <div style="text-align: justify;">
653. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
654. </span></div>
655. <div style="text-align: justify;">
656. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, these suffered a serious malfunction – and only one of the wrestlers was visible.   The Martians watched as the lone wrestler repeatedly smashed his head against the corner post, screamed in agony, twisted his arms behind his back, contorted his face in pain, bounced off the ropes, rose into the air and crashed to the floor in an unconscious heap.</span></div>
657. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
658. </span> <br />
659. <div style="text-align: justify;">
660. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Disturbed by this alarming display, the Martians could see no rational explanation and concluded that the earthlings were mad.  Curiosity satisfied, they reversed direction and headed back into space never to return.   </span></div>
661. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
662. </span> <br />
663. <h4>
664. <span style="font-family: "wingdings";">1</span>  <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/15sLr8driTTEVFoIgQNHAlYwBO_s2bCnf3Vxoqm8xZNQ/preview?pli=1" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;">Read more</span></a></h4>
665. &lt;br /&gt;</content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/831158137937516782'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/831158137937516782'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2014/08/14-august-btselem-and-martians-1-gaza.html' title='B’tselem and the Martians Part 1'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-3422004251650911332</id><published>2014-08-01T13:14:00.000+03:00</published><updated>2016-05-21T06:29:11.409+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Archive"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>How Many Civilian Casualties in Gaza?</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
666. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">24 July 2014</span></div>
667. <br />
668. <div>
669. <div style="line-height: 1.1500000000000001; margin-bottom: 15pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: center;">
670. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #073763; font-family: "verdana"; font-size: 24px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How Many Civilian Casualties in Gaza?</span></div>
671. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;">At the time of writing, it is reported that over 800 civilians in Gaza have been killed in the current conflict with Israel.  But is this true?   Where did these figures come from? Are they reliable? </span><br />
672. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span> <br />
673. <div style="text-align: justify;">
674. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The short answer is that the figures come from Hamas and they are not reliable.   They have been deliberately distorted.   This is how.</span></div>
675. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span> <br />
676. <div style="text-align: justify;">
677. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the first place, a directive from the Hamas Interior Ministry instructed spokesmen to report that ALL casualties are civilian.  Further, they are instructed not to show pictures of rockets being fired from civilian areas.  This can easily be confirmed by reference to the stalwart translation work of Memri.org. </span></div>
678. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span> <br />
679. <div style="text-align: justify;">
680. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Secondly, from Hamas sources Al-Jazeera has compiled a list of what it says are civilians killed.  This shows that male deaths were over 80% of the total.  Even more indicative, those men between the ages of 18 and 38 were over 65% of the total.  This means that deaths among men of fighting age are disproportionately high. </span></div>
681. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span> <br />
682. <div style="text-align: justify;">
683. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Thirdly, the policy of Hamas to use civilians as human shields has contributed .... </span></div>
684. <div style="text-align: justify;">
685. <span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />
686. </span></div>
687. <span style="font-family: "wingdings";">1</span> <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k3U4kv-BdvAIywXXYkYZEfu6Sn0zf-si-nVZJiIz52A/preview?pli=1" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Read more</b></span></a><br />
688. <div style="text-align: justify;">
689. <br /></div>
690. </div>
691. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/3422004251650911332'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/3422004251650911332'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2014/08/how-many-civilian-casualties-in-gaza.html' title='How Many Civilian Casualties in Gaza?'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-34680303211656902</id><published>2012-01-21T23:17:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2015-01-17T20:18:57.286+02:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Archive"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>Mazal Tov President Abbas Part 2</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
692. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">22 January 2012</span></div>
693. <br />
694. <div style="text-align: center;">
695. <span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Mazal Tov, President Abbas (2)</b></span></div>
696. <br />
697. <div style="text-align: center;">
698. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Lenin, President Abbas and the UK Deputy Prime Minister</b></span></div>
699. <div style="text-align: justify;">
700. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
701. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Lenin is credited with having coined the expression useful idiots. By this is meant the service provided by innocent and ideologically blinded western politicians and reporters who defended the young Soviet state and did their best to deny, excuse or shield its totalitarian savagery from exposure. </span></div>
702. <div style="text-align: justify;">
703. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
704. <div style="text-align: justify;">
705. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In other words, the useful idiots served a totalitarian, anti-democratic and anti-liberal purpose. In reality, by defending revolutionary totalitarianism instead of supporting the democrats and liberals, who were being wiped-out by Lenin, Trotsky, Bukharin and Stalin, they became dangerous idiots. </span></div>
706. <div style="text-align: justify;">
707. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
708. <div style="text-align: justify;">
709. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To look at this from another angle, the only people who are fooled by useful idiots are the liberal democrats who fail to see that their own liberal-democratic way of thinking and behaving is far from being shared by everyone. The liberal-democratic view that thinks disputes should be settled on a win-win basis without violence is fine when dealing with others who share a similar outlook. When reinforced by well-established and agreed structures, limits and laws the advantages seem obvious.</span></div>
710. <div>
711. <div style="text-align: justify;">
712. <br />
713. <h4 style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13.1999998092651px; line-height: 18.4799995422363px; margin: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left;">
714. <span style="color: #222222; font-family: Wingdings;">1</span><span style="color: #222222;"> </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1CHHoKWc5pN9AJT-nmJhGpOTIVVEFgMTbqrQfFAcz7qI/preview?pli=1" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: justify; text-decoration: none; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;">Read more</span></a></h4>
715. <br /></div>
716. </div>
717. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/34680303211656902'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/34680303211656902'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2012/01/mazal-tov-president-abbas-part-2.html' title='Mazal Tov President Abbas Part 2'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-7763163208371357526</id><published>2012-01-21T22:49:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2015-04-06T11:05:13.251+03:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Archive"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Palestinians"/><title type='text'>Mazal Tov, President Abbas Part 1</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
718. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">21 January 2012</span></div>
719. <br />
720. <span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
721. <div style="text-align: center;">
722. <span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>Mazal Tov, President Abbas (1)</b></span></div>
723. <br />
724. <div style="text-align: center;">
725. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Solidarity with the Palestinians</b></span></span></div>
726. <div style="text-align: justify;">
727. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
728. </span> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Earlier this month, a momentous occasion passed for the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas - he began the eighth year of his four-year term as President. But instead of a tsunami of congratulations from the world's leaders for this popular figure on such a remarkable anniversary, the occasion has been almost universally ignored.</span></div>
729. <div style="text-align: justify;">
730. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
731. </span></div>
732. <div style="text-align: justify;">
733. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The absence of elections for the Presidency is not the only feature of Palestinian democracy to be ignored by large sections of the world's political leaders and media. They have also ignored repeated cancellations of the Palestinian local elections. Likewise, the disappearance of elections to the Palestinian Authority has been greeted by silence. This is not an oversight. There is a pattern and the pattern is clear. </span></div>
734. <div style="text-align: justify;">
735. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
736. </span></div>
737. <div style="text-align: justify;">
738. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Palestinian leaders, in both Gaza and the Disputed Territories, jettison democracy ...</span></div>
739. <div style="text-align: justify;">
740. <br /></div>
741. <div style="text-align: justify;">
742. <h4>
743. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-family: 'Wingdings';">1 </span></span><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1IwrflWjZ5kCCoyBcRONrVZoJBe8SwfAjTOVVLPQ0i4g/preview?pli=1" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 15px; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;">Read more</span></a></h4>
744. </div>
745. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/7763163208371357526'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/7763163208371357526'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2012/01/mazal-tov-president-abbas-pt-1.html' title='Mazal Tov, President Abbas Part 1'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2631804742177066432.post-1598140522532423349</id><published>2011-10-26T17:34:00.000+02:00</published><updated>2015-01-17T01:07:09.726+02:00</updated><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Archive"/><category scheme="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#" term="Hasbara"/><title type='text'>Tzipi Livni: Inept or Dangerous?</title><content type='html'>&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: right;&quot;&gt;
746. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">26 October 2011</span><br />
747. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
748. </span></div>
749. <h3>
750. </h3>
751. <h2>
752. <div style="text-align: center;">
753. <span style="color: #073763; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Tzipi Livni: Inept or Dangerous?</span></div>
754. <br /><div style="text-align: center;">
755. <span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Misrepresenting Israel Abroad</span></div>
756. </h2>
757. <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><div style="text-align: justify;">
758. Tzipi Livni is currently leader of Kadima ('forward') the largest opposition party in the Knesset. But if the remarks made by her deputy Shaul Mofaz at his recent Sukkot party are anything to go by (he announced that he would be the next Prime Minister of Israel), she won't be in this top position long. In a sense, this would be a pity. There is something comically entertaining in observing the constant stream of back-biting, incompetence, personal animosity and wishful-thinking at work.</div>
759. </span><div style="background-color: transparent; text-align: justify;">
760. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
761. </span></div>
762. <div style="background-color: transparent; text-align: justify;">
763. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of course, this faint enjoyment would be spoiled entirely if these people ever came to power.  But working on the assumption that Mofaz is as deluded as his leader, we may be forced to suffer her as boss of Kadima for some time yet.   So we may as well make the most of the entertainment value of her speciality: sounding like a petulant, spoilt child in a constant sulk.</span></div>
764. <div style="background-color: transparent; text-align: justify;">
765. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
766. </span></div>
767. <div style="background-color: transparent; text-align: justify;">
768. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Unfortunately, we cannot rely on this...   </span></div>
769. <div dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
770. <span style="background-color: transparent; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div>
771. <div dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;">
772. <h4 style="text-align: left;">
773. <span style="font-family: 'Wingdings';">1</span> <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DfB26Bb_IjtlZu7i3PYFNbbl2d2AmGQWJk12iEXYgik/preview?pli=1" style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt; text-align: justify; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #444444;">Read more</span></a></h4>
774. </div>
775. </content><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/1598140522532423349'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/2631804742177066432/posts/default/1598140522532423349'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://arguments4israel.blogspot.com/2011/10/26-oct-2011-tzipi-livni-or-dangerous.html' title='Tzipi Livni: Inept or Dangerous?'/><author><name>Jon Dyson</name><uri>http://www.blogger.com/profile/18099119537687256704</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author></entry></feed>

If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:

1. Download the "valid Atom 1.0" banner.

2. Upload the image to your own server. (This step is important. Please do not link directly to the image on this server.)

3. Add this HTML to your page (change the image src attribute if necessary):

   <a href="http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=https%3A//arguments4israel.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default"><img src="valid-atom.png" alt="[Valid Atom 1.0]" title="Validate my Atom 1.0 feed" /></a>

If you would like to create a text link instead, here is the URL you can use:

http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=https%3A//arguments4israel.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Home · About · News · Docs · Terms