A self-proclaimed "friend of Israel" doesn't bother to check facts ~ Elder Of Ziyon

Monday, May 09, 2022

A self-proclaimed "friend of Israel" doesn't bother to check facts

Juan Manuel Santos, a former president of Colombia and member of "The Elders," writes an anti-Israel screed as a "friend of Israel," which ends with his hope that Israel is hauled in front of the International Criminal Court.

And he, like Palestinians, compares Israel to Russia in his "friendly"article:

The world has been horrified by Putin's invasion of Ukraine and that reaction is correct. Political leaders are turning to a rules-based international order to counter this unwarranted act of aggression. However, we must not forget that the neglect of these global rules and norms around the world has long since undermined peace and security and made impunity possible, for example, in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. To reverse this dangerous trend, leaders must uphold these rules everywhere and at all times. The double standard could weaken the grounds for taking justified action.

For decades, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has worsened because the international community has not denounced the systematic violation of international law. Currently, there is considerable evidence that the Israeli Government is blatantly flouting it with its rule over the occupied Palestinian lands and its oppressive practices on the Palestinian people. As a friend of Israel, I feel compelled to speak out.

Really? The international community has not denounced Israel? Has the esteemed ex-president ever heard of the UN, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the EU, the Arab League?

This sounds like propaganda from an anti-Israel student organization or the Electronic Intifada more than the sober analysis of an elder statesman.

As friends of Israel, we are increasingly concerned that recent Israeli governments have shown no intention of applying the values of equality and freedom enshrined in their declaration of independence in the territory they have occupied since 1967. They continue to deny the basic principle of equality rights and prevent the creation of a Palestinian state.

Again, this is propaganda disguised as analysis. The only official framework for peace is the Oslo process. The end goal was an independent Palestinian state, not "annexation." As part of that process, Israel voluntarily gave a great deal of land to the Palestinian Authority, a brand new government set up and agreed to by Israel. They have administrative and legal control over the lives of nearly all Palestinians.

Then, they made an active decision to not accept their own state and instead launch a terror war against Jews and Israel.

Whatever you think of the wisdom of Oslo, it is still the legal framework for everything that happens in the territories, since it is the source of all signed agreements between Israel and the Palestinians. That is international law. To suddenly claim that Israel must give equal rights and citizenship to a people whose entire legal existence is predicated on a process that is meant to give them their own state is changing the rules in the middle of the game.

The reason there is no Palestinian state - a state that Israel has offered multiple times - is because of Palestinian refusal to accept one.

Santos is pretending that the entire legal framework for the territories does not exist, and that Israel must violate the terms of Oslo in order to give Palestinians equal rights - which means annexing all of the territory and giving citizenship. A solution that literally no one wants. His statement "They continue to deny the basic principle of equality rights and prevent the creation of a Palestinian state" is not only factually wrong but internally inconsistent.

The de facto annexation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, through the unchecked expansion of illegal Jewish settlements, is a clear indication of Israel's intention to permanently dominate a stateless Palestinian people.

Again, this is a statement one would expect from an anti-Israel activist. There is no de facto annexation of the West Bank - much of it is off limits to Jewish Israelis and the Israeli army stays out of Area A except for exceptional circumstances to save lives. The settlement areas are virtually the same they were in 1993, and there is no "unchecked growth" by any definition. (Ask the Jews who live there!) This is anti-Israel propaganda, not a sober recitation of facts from a "friend."

And so is this:

Unfortunately, what we are witnessing is an orchestrated effort by the Israeli government and its allies to silence all criticism and persuade Israeli society and its foreign allies that such a debate is baseless, without examining the evidence. Those who exhibit evidence face being denigrated, accused of anti-Semitism and even criminalized.

Somehow, despite the (Jewish?) control of the media, Santos managed to publish this in Spain's second most popular newspaper. It is amazing how easily and widely critics of Israel can publish that they are being silenced.

On The Elders news page, the only country criticized besides Russia is Israel. When we see things like that, the charges of antisemitism are not an attempt to silence anyone - just an observation of fact that people who pretend to care about peace in the entire world are obsessed over the supposed crimes of the Jewish state.