Before Bibi's speech
What will PM Netayahu say in his upcoming speech on Sunday at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies (BESA) at Bar Ilan University, announced in advance as a major foreign policy address, and what won't he say?
This speech is clearly intended as a rejoinder to Pres. Obama's speech to the Muslim world given recently in Cairo, although Netanyahu won't "answer" it as such. In that speech Obama spoke to both the Palestinians and to Israel, and advised both sides that they must be prepared to make hard compromises. However, while the Palestinians were advised to change their attitudes and approach to the conflict, i.e. stop their culture of incitement to hatred of Jews and Israel in their education and media, Israel was told to physically stop "natural growth" of settlements (actually 5.8% in 2007 to become 300,000 people by 2008). It is unlikely that Netanyahu would accept this condition short of actual negotiations with the Palestinians.
There is only one Israeli Government, but there are two Palestinian entities, the PA on the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza that takes an extremist pro-Iranian line. Does Obama think that they will both respond to his supposedly reasonable propositions? Hopefully Netanyahu will point out the impossibility of making peace with the PA without including Gaza, something that even Pres. Abbas of the PA has stated. Therefore, a rapprochement between Hamas and Fatah must precede any agreement with Israel. That is one reason why Netanyahu will propose an improvement in the economic infrastructure and governance of the PA prior to any actual "two state solution" being considered.
Israel cannot afford to allow Iran to actually develop nuclear weapons, whoever won yesterday's election. And Israel cannot accept a pro-Iranian terrorist state in Gaza and more especially not on the West Bank. That is why reinforcement of the more "moderate" Fatah elements is essential and this must be accomplished before any success in negotiations are possible.
Nevertheless, Netanyahu will state that his Government accepts all previous agreements of Israeli Governments and will call for immediate and continued negotiations with the PA, subject to constant verification. However, he will point out that no actual results can come from these discussions until the PA is prepared to recognize Israel as the Jewish State that it is and comes to the table representing all Palestinians, so that any agreement can then be considered final.
Among the things that Netanyahu won't say is that Obama was wrong in his speech on several counts: 1 Islam is not as pacific a religion as Judaism and Christianity as Obama implied. There is more actual violence proposed in the Koran, for example the requirement of Jihad, which means a war to the end against all infidels. 2. when Obama said that America was "an Islamic country" he was mis-stating the implication, since having Muslims living in America is a far cry from implementing Sharia law, which is the Islamic test for being an Islamic country. 3. When Obama stated that Islam was a religion that respected "human rights" he was wrong, there are no such rights under Islam, for example consider the treatment of women and the treatment of of all those suspected of supporting the West, ranging from imprisonment to peremptory torture and killing. 4. When he stated that "when one saves a life it is as if one saves a whole world" he was not quoting a Muslim sage, he was quoting Rabbi Akiva who said this ca. 1,000 years before Islam appeared. And so on.
One issue that was conspicuous by its absence in Obama's speech was "terrorism", which was not mentioned. Since there is no longer "a war on terror" presumably Obama and his advisors think there is no longer any terrorism, and in any case if there is, it must not be linked to Islam. Unfortunately that is like burying your head in the sand, a comfortable liberal position.
Obama's speech was an attempt to persuade the Muslim world that the US is not their enemy, as previous American and British leaders have also often stated. But, it was verging on cowardly and will only persuade the extremists that their approach is working, and that the West is lead by a weak, appeasing ruler. Hopefully they will not hear the same tone in Netanyahu's speech.
This speech is clearly intended as a rejoinder to Pres. Obama's speech to the Muslim world given recently in Cairo, although Netanyahu won't "answer" it as such. In that speech Obama spoke to both the Palestinians and to Israel, and advised both sides that they must be prepared to make hard compromises. However, while the Palestinians were advised to change their attitudes and approach to the conflict, i.e. stop their culture of incitement to hatred of Jews and Israel in their education and media, Israel was told to physically stop "natural growth" of settlements (actually 5.8% in 2007 to become 300,000 people by 2008). It is unlikely that Netanyahu would accept this condition short of actual negotiations with the Palestinians.
There is only one Israeli Government, but there are two Palestinian entities, the PA on the West Bank and Hamas in Gaza that takes an extremist pro-Iranian line. Does Obama think that they will both respond to his supposedly reasonable propositions? Hopefully Netanyahu will point out the impossibility of making peace with the PA without including Gaza, something that even Pres. Abbas of the PA has stated. Therefore, a rapprochement between Hamas and Fatah must precede any agreement with Israel. That is one reason why Netanyahu will propose an improvement in the economic infrastructure and governance of the PA prior to any actual "two state solution" being considered.
Israel cannot afford to allow Iran to actually develop nuclear weapons, whoever won yesterday's election. And Israel cannot accept a pro-Iranian terrorist state in Gaza and more especially not on the West Bank. That is why reinforcement of the more "moderate" Fatah elements is essential and this must be accomplished before any success in negotiations are possible.
Nevertheless, Netanyahu will state that his Government accepts all previous agreements of Israeli Governments and will call for immediate and continued negotiations with the PA, subject to constant verification. However, he will point out that no actual results can come from these discussions until the PA is prepared to recognize Israel as the Jewish State that it is and comes to the table representing all Palestinians, so that any agreement can then be considered final.
Among the things that Netanyahu won't say is that Obama was wrong in his speech on several counts: 1 Islam is not as pacific a religion as Judaism and Christianity as Obama implied. There is more actual violence proposed in the Koran, for example the requirement of Jihad, which means a war to the end against all infidels. 2. when Obama said that America was "an Islamic country" he was mis-stating the implication, since having Muslims living in America is a far cry from implementing Sharia law, which is the Islamic test for being an Islamic country. 3. When Obama stated that Islam was a religion that respected "human rights" he was wrong, there are no such rights under Islam, for example consider the treatment of women and the treatment of of all those suspected of supporting the West, ranging from imprisonment to peremptory torture and killing. 4. When he stated that "when one saves a life it is as if one saves a whole world" he was not quoting a Muslim sage, he was quoting Rabbi Akiva who said this ca. 1,000 years before Islam appeared. And so on.
One issue that was conspicuous by its absence in Obama's speech was "terrorism", which was not mentioned. Since there is no longer "a war on terror" presumably Obama and his advisors think there is no longer any terrorism, and in any case if there is, it must not be linked to Islam. Unfortunately that is like burying your head in the sand, a comfortable liberal position.
Obama's speech was an attempt to persuade the Muslim world that the US is not their enemy, as previous American and British leaders have also often stated. But, it was verging on cowardly and will only persuade the extremists that their approach is working, and that the West is lead by a weak, appeasing ruler. Hopefully they will not hear the same tone in Netanyahu's speech.
posted by Jack Cohen at 9:09 AM
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