Thursday, April 23, 2020
Elder of Ziyon
These sorts of things are stunts. There is no transparency - J-Street doesn't want you to know how many people signed or who they are.
But fundamentally, the point of J-Street is to subvert Israeli democracy and act as if they know what is best for Israelis better than Israelis do.
So, without much planning, I created my own petition:
Israel is a democracy. Let it decide on its own future.I'm not going to send this out to my mailing list like J-Street is because I don't like to spam people. This petition will likely not get as many signatures. But it doesn't matter, because the entire point is optics - if people who support Israel take the time to create petitions then there is no longer a clear playing field for the people who oppose Israel and its policies.
There is a lot of debate within Israel itself on what the future of Judea and Samaria should be, in a way that respects the rights of both Arabs and Jews. There are no simple answers.
But leftist American organizations are trying to subvert Israeli democracy by pressuring Israel to do what they want, rather than what Israelis want by choosing their elected officials.
It is chutzpah to assume that Israelis don't understand the issues as well as American Jews do. Israelis are the ones who live in Israel and have to live with whatever decisions are made. Not all of them agree, by any means, on the best way to move forward. If they want to choose a different direction they can elect different leaders. Outsiders do not have the same risks that Israelis have, and their attempting to pressure Israel is an attempt to subvert Israeli democracy.
Let Israel decide what it best for Israel.
Furthermore, my petition can be signed by people who oppose annexation too. The point isn't the decide Israel's policy one way or the other, and I support Israel's right to make its own decisions even when I disagree with them.
So sign on and help neutralize the people who think they can tell Israel what to do.
