Friday, February 14, 2014
Elder of Ziyon
Thursday, February 13, 2014Elder of ZiyonZionism is sentimentalism. Its impractical aspects should be apparent to any who gives the subject serious analysis. This fatal sentimentalism is shown at the outset in the selection of Palestine as the site for a Jewish commonwealth. Sentiment alone, unmixed with any practical considerations, could have governed such a choice. Palestine is a comparatively unfruitful country, partly an arid region and partly malarial marshes. Its arable soil is sterile, its natural resources are exhausted, its topographical advantages are few and unimportant, it is not contiguous to centers of either supply or consumption, it is without navigable streams and has no adequate harbor, it is surrounded by hostile hordes and is internally overrun by antagonistic Arabs. All worth while that remain to it are its traditions, and, while these are historically precious, they are a poor foundation for an economic state. Moreover, the claim to its shrines must be shared with the mass of mankind, for every Christian and Moslem as well as the Jew calls it the Holy Land.
Modern Palestine is, in truth, a land of desolation. It may be the Holy Land, but it is not a happy land.
Because of its territorial limitations (its area is some 10,000 square miles—less than the little state of Maryland), it is not possible in these days for Palestine, however plethorically peopled, to become a national entity of importance and power sufficient to justify its existence.
And what Jews would migrate to Palestine? The persecuted and oppressed? The old Order of racial oppression rapidly is vanishing and soon will be no more than a historical memory. The Zionist movement was originated, I believe, chiefly to provide refuge for Jews from the cruelties of Russia, Poland, and Roumania. But such sanctuary no longer is needed. The regime of Russian tyranny has passed, Poland's barbarous power is broken, and Roumania will be made to behave itself. Persecution of Jews, incidental to their presence among Gentiles, persists to some extent in all lands, but this now is too limited to drive them to Palestine from the ends of the earth.
The comfortable classes will not go. Zangwill says of these that he finds "the majority more united for civilization than for colonization."
Prosperous Jews certainly can not be expected to emigrate to Palestine from the countries of their present contentment. The less affluent who are established in employment could not benefit by severing existing associations and removing to Palestine to make a fresh start.
Self-appointed leaders of Zionism have no intention of personally joining the Palestinian colony. They are leaders who will remain in the rear. They are no Moseses.
...What, then, is the aim of the Zionists as to the personnel of the Palestinian State? Do they plan to dump all their defectives, incompetents, and other dependents into the Holy Land, where collectively they can be cared for least expensively? These scarcely would make a creditable colony, one that would reflect favorably before the world the national aspirations of the race. They are not the material for the building of a powerful and permanent state. They could not successfully manage industries, direct government, and develop culture. Moreover, I fear there are not enough failures among the Jews to constitute a very extensive colony.
If the least capable are thus to be colonized, they inevitably would be exploited by designing demagogues of their own race, as well as become the prey of all predatory foreigners.
...There is no need today for a Jewish homeland, for there no longer are homeless Jews except as a common condition of European warfare. The Jew now is a powerful part of nearly every great nation, enjoying civic rights equally with the Gentile. When other governments shall cease fighting Russia, directly or indirectly, and allow the nation to function normally, that vast region of almost virgin resources will afford desirable residence for the Jews or any other race, and be a fit field for Jewish enterprise. Also, Australia, Canada, the United States, and all LatinAmerica give ample area for Jewish expansion.
Palestine is a land of traditions, where, if the Jew be thence transplanted, the burden of the past will weigh heavily upon him. He needs to dwell in new lands, where he always would face the future. It were better for him that he have a fresh outlook, instead of turning his vision forever backward.
The denationalized Jew is welcomed into every progressive community because he enlarges its productive capacity; he is cordially accepted by every advanced government because he adds to the aggregate of taxable wealth. As a national entity he would be a bone of contention among rival powers and an object of collective spoliation.
Among the diverse difficulties confronting such a colony would be the lack of a universal language. Few things are more conducive to inharmony among mankind than what Roget, the English philologist, laments as "that barrier to the interchange of thought and mutual good understanding between man and man, which now is interposed by the diversity of their respective languages."
As a practical vehicle for intercommunication, Hebrew virtually is a dead language. In its purity it is habitually spoken by only 5 per cent of the Jews of the world, being kept alive to this limited extent chiefly by the Chassidim. Consequently, the Jews in Palestine, gathered from all quarters of the globe, would be hampered in their intercourse by a polyglot nomenclature, consisting of Yiddish, Ladino, and other Jewish jargons, as well as all the various vernaculars of the different countries whence the colonists were transplanted.
From this condition would result a "confusion of tongues" such as we are told in biblical lore prevailed at the building of the Tower of Babel, where, according to Kipling's description, "each man talked of the aims of Art, and each in an alien tongue."
...Realized Zionism would be a reversal of the process of progress, a backward step across the chasm of 2000 years. Judaism should be expanded by emigration, not contracted by colonization. It is but natural, perhaps, that the Jews should chafe at their anomalous position of being a nationality without a nation—a people unique in this as in all other things. But it is precisely because the Jews are not a nation that they can become a part of all nations, to achieve international redemption. Israel was'' dispersed to discharge a mission to spread the principles of truth and justice and be a model of righteousness unto all the nations of earth." How, then, may it fulfill this mission if it withdraw again unto itself?
Modern Zionism simply would make of Palestine a magnified ghetto. The true Zion is a spiritual domain whose dimensions can not be defined by metes and bounds.
Jews should realize that Zionism is not exclusively their own concern. The Jewish mission is a world mission, affecting all the inhabitants of earth.
Wherefore, the destiny of Israel is not an individual destiny; it involves the destiny of all humankind.
It behooves the Jews to bear faithfully in mind the primal promise to Abraham, "Thou shalt be a father of many nations"—not just one paltry political state. And when disposed to be forgetful of the magnitude of their mission they should recall the covenant with Jacob that "in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." For myself, I am one Gentile who is unwilling to be cheated of his part in this patrimony, but would hold the Jews to the ancient bargain with their fathers.
...Zionism holds in its plan a fatal contradiction. It would re-establish Jewish nationalism as a means of preserving the Jews as a people. A part of the purpose is to relieve the Jew of oppressive restrictions. As a matter of fact, persecution has been his only preservative. Racial cohesion is a consequence of resistance to invasion of his rights. Remove this cohesive agent, and Judaism would dissolve like a lump of salt in water.
So, the pressure of persecution being all that binds the Jews together, Zionism aims a death-blow at Jewish solidarity.
But the Jews now are so cosmopolitan in character, so thoroughly intermingled with other peoples, so firmly affixed in their associations, and have such enduringly established interests that never again will they attach themselves collectively to a territorial unit. They will remain distributed throughout the world, the better to disseminate the doctrines of Judaism.
...It is by no means a rash statement to affirm that at bottom Zionism is not a Jewish, but an anti-Semitic movement, despite the unimpeachable sincerity and unquestioned devotion of its Jewish proponents. Crafty Gentile leaders openlv encourage the colonization plan, while a majority of the dominant class secretly promote the project. Why? Is it because they love the Jew and have his best interests at heart? You know it isn't! Jews should again be reminded to "beware the Greeks bearing gifts." Now that the Jew has grown too strong in his dispersion to be longer despoiled, the Gentiles desire no more of him and would be rid of his presence among them. They would have the Jew go to Palestine, that they may seize upon the opportunities he will leave behind. In confession of their weakness, they would relieve themselves of his successful competition.Again, I really believe that the author believed that he was giving honest advice - and that he truly felt that the best thing for persecuted Jews to do is to stay and convince their persecutors to become better people. Unfortunately, too many Jews nowadays still hold onto this bizarre mindset.
Again, while there is strength in unity, not always is there strength in concentration. Israel distributed but unified can effectively defend itself; Jews gathered in a single concentration camp can easily be suppressed and controlled. This was proved in a small way by the Pale. Shall Palestine become a larger Pale?
Progressive civilization soon will compel an end of pogroms; but a Jewish nation is a logical object of armed attack in "legitimate" warfare, pretext for which readily can be provided in conformity with "international law." With the Jews collected in Palestine and virtually defenseless, their wholesale slaughter can more conveniently be accomplished. This may be the Gentile solution to the Jewish Problem. This incredible suggestion will, of course, provoke skeptical smiles from confident and confiding Jews who have learned nothing precautious from the sanguinary lessons of racial history, nor even grasped the stupendous significance of the present world-wave of anti-Semitic agitation.
If preservation and not destruction of the Jews is the desire of the Gentile nations, why do they, while approving Zionism, permit in Europe exterminative war against the Jews without so much as a polite protest?—indeed, abetting that slaughter even to the extent of providing the Polish murderers and the anti-Semitic renegade Russian commander, General Wrangel, with the very bullets with which they butcher Jews. None can be so credulous as for one moment to suppose the complaisant powers could not, did they wish to do so, instantly stop this slaughter of Jews merely by indicating that wish. Certain it is that this result could be assured by refusing further aid until the atrocities cease.
Also, the Gentile fears the fulfillment of Israel's mission, which in his blindness he can not see as a universal blessing, thinking it means Jewish material dominance instead of spiritual supremacy—which misbelief is shared by some Jews. Furthermore, the Jewish ideal is opposed to his selfish interests. He would delay the New Dispensation with its reign of social righteousness, that he still may trample truth and justice. In Zionism he sees the surest means for the miscarriage of the Jewish mission and the defeat of humanity's highest hope.
...It is not a part of the predestined program of Jewish emancipation that the Jew should emigrate en masse from the lands of his persecution. That would be defeat. He must tarry and triumph. It is his mission to remain and civilize his persecutors, to the end that persecution may cease; thus, in self-defense, fulfilling his ordained destiny.
If he would be true to his mission, the last place a Jew should leave is the country of his oppression; that is where he most is needed. Instead of forsaking the inhospitable land for a place of paternalistic refuge, he should remain to redeem it and make it fit for the abiding of all men.
Zionism means evacuation and retreat—a desertion of the field and defeat for the cause.
When Transjordan conquered the West Bank in 1948 and annexed it in 1950, it did so on a territory that had been allocated to Jewish self-determination by post-World War I international treaties. Hence Jordan’s sovereignty over the West Bank was never recognized by the international community (with the exception of Britain and Pakistan). When Israel conquered the West Bank in June 1967, it did so in a legitimate act of self-defense (as opposed to Jordan’s military aggression in 1948). Israel did not cross an international border, but a temporary armistice line. It did not conquer a recognized sovereign territory, but one that had been allocated to the Jewish People by the League of Nations and that had been unlawfully controlled by Jordan for 19 years.Alan Dershowitz: Ten reasons why the BDS movement is immoral and hinders peace
Therefore, many international lawyers dispute the assertion that the West Bank is an occupied territory and that the 1949 Geneva Convention applies to it. Article 49 of the convention, which prohibits the mass transfer of populations into occupied territories, was meant to prevent what was a common German practice during WWII, not the voluntary settlement of Jews in a land that was allocated to them for that very purpose by the League of Nations.
The actions brought against Israeli companies that operate beyond the 1949 Armistice Line are therefore legally groundless, even according to the disputable opinion that Israel’s presence beyond that line is illegal. However, were other European courts to vindicate anti-Israeli boycotters in the future, then hundreds of European companies would be exposed to lawsuits because of their activities and investments in countries that occupy territories or that control disputed ones. The list includes, among others, China (over Tibet), Russia (over Abkhazia), Turkey (over Cyprus), and Morocco (over Western Sahara).
Although BDS activists do not have a case, they are potentially exposing hundreds of European companies operating in the above countries to liability. I say bring it on and give Europe a taste of its own medicine.
As a strong supporter of the two state solution and a critic of Israel's settlement policies, I am particularly appalled at efforts to impose divestment, boycotts and sanctions against Israel, and Israel alone, because BDS makes it more difficult to achieve a peaceful resolution of the Mid-East conflict that requires compromise on all sides.
The BDS movement is highly immoral, threatens the peace process and discourages the Palestinians from agreeing to any reasonable peace offer. Here are ten compelling reasons why the BDS movement is immoral and incompatible with current efforts to arrive at a compromise peace.
Thursday, February 13, 2014Elder of Ziyon
@elderofziyon @TimesofIsrael Christians & Muslims have equal claim on #Jerusalem as Jews-Then why racist demand Jewish only capital. #BDS
— Muhammad Safeen (@SafeensS) February 13, 2014
@jillpoll @elderofziyon @KJTHACKWELL @JohnEdwards33 @elsaidst @PeterMcC66 @Adamitv @FrankMWebb pic.twitter.com/s0h15aZo78
— joanne stowell (@JOYOURPAPARAZZI) February 13, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014Elder of ZiyonA Lebanese web developer has been sentenced to two months in prison for insulting President Michel Sleiman on Twitter, a judicial source told AFP.Yes, Lebanon's liberals are just as intolerant as Hezbollah is.
"Jean Assy was sentenced to two months in jail for defaming and insulting the president via Twitter," the source said.
"The court decision can be appealed within 10 days."
The case is thought to be the first time a Lebanese citizen has been sentenced for views expressed on a social network, though people have previously been charged for similar insults.
Assy said the case stemmed from tweets he wrote about Sleiman in January and February of last year.
"I wrote that the president is castrated, politically castrated, and I wrote the minister of interior is stupid, and things like this," he told AFP.
He has not yet been arrested and said he plans to appeal the decision.
"I'm not going to spend two months in jail because of a tweet. I'm going to fight it, I'm not going to allow him to punish someone who tweeted against him while he is ignoring all the problems in the country," Assy said of Sleiman.
Assy, 26, has nearly 6,000 followers and regularly tweets harsh and at times vulgar criticism of many of Lebanon's politicians.
He says he is not a political activist, but acknowledges his support for Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and his Christian ally Michel Aoun, who are spared his online wrath.
The verdict was immediately criticized by Human Rights Watch, whose deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa called it a "negative development."When Lebanon does something outrageously against human rights, HRW still compliments it. Can you imagine them sugarcoating any criticism of Israel, for any reason?
"Criminalizing and sending someone to jail for expression that someone deems insulting or inflammatory violates Lebanon's international obligations to protect expression," Nadim Houry told AFP.
"Lebanon has a decision to make," he added.
"Does it want to go down the route of so many other countries in the region... or does it want to preserve and maintain its reputation for a great tolerance for free expression in the Arab world?"
But for [Mordechai] Kedar of Bar-Ilan University, the question is not one of genes but one of cultural and linguistic heritage.Abbas Shuts Down the Peace Process
“There is no doubt that Jews lived here in the past, while there’s no proof of Arab connection to this land before the seventh century,” he said. “There is no connection between the Arabian nations and the Canaanites: not ethnic, not cultural, nothing. They produce these myths to justify the fact that they are here.”
Palestinian family names speak more than anything to the foreign origin of their bearers, Kedar added. The Al-Masri family from Nablus obviously originated from Egypt (Al-Masri means Egyptian in Arabic). The Houranis came from the Houran region in southwestern Syria. Saeb Erekat’s clan in Jericho prides itself in originating from Saudi Arabia, Kedar noted.
“Since when did they become Palestinians?” he wondered.
Last week, Jonathan Tobin wrote here of how we were on the eve of a fourth Palestinian “no” to a peace agreement. It would appear that has now arrived, albeit slightly sooner than anyone had expected. Many observers assumed that once Secretary of State John Kerry got around to submitting his framework for a negotiated peace, Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas would then set about finding an excuse for rejecting it. What few could have predicted was that Abbas would find a way to reject the proposal before it was even submitted. Yet, this is precisely the impressive feat that Abbas has now accomplished.Palestinian Lecturer: The Palestinians Should Moderate Their Negotiating Positions And Stop Being Rejectionist
Earlier today, Abbas’s spokespeople in Ramallah announced the PA’s new set of red lines in any negotiated peace settlement. Each and every one of these red lines blows to pieces anything Kerry was about to propose, as it does to the prospects for an agreement between the two sides in general. These red lines which Abbas details in a letter being sent to the U.S. and the Quartet seamlessly preempts whatever Kerry was likely to outline in his own peace parameters. In this way Abbas artfully dodges a scenario in which the Israelis would agree to a peace plan and the Palestinians would come under pressure not to derail yet another effort to resolve the conflict. (h/t Norman F)
In a January 28, 2014 article published by the Palestinian news agency Maan, Professor Muhammad Al-Dajani Al-Daoudi, a lecturer at Al-Quds University, called upon the Palestinians to take more flexible positions rather than reject every Israeli demand or condition, because their nay-saying does not serve their objectives and they might ultimately regret it. He urged them to recognize Israel as a Jewish state, agree that East Jerusalem be awarded special international status, consent to the presence of Israeli forces in the Jordan Valley, and assent to a demilitarized Palestinian state.
It should be noted that a few weeks ago Al-Daoudi published an article urging the study of the Holocaust in PA schools.
Thursday, February 13, 2014Elder of Ziyon
unrwaThe content includes social, behavioral and environmental values such as: good social manners, mutual respect, tolerance, equality between members of the different sexes, races, socio-economic classes etc., personal hygiene, care for personal and public property, non-discrimination against the poor and the handicapped, mutual help, conversation manners, time management, freedom of expression and respect for others' views, cooperation, respect for the law, integrity, protection of the environment, peace and non-violence, love for family members and friends, social responsibility, patriotism, equal opportunities, free elections, peaceful collective expression of views (that is, meeting, assembly, rally, demonstration, etc.), non-smoking, social activity through NGOs, respect for others' feelings, listening, negotiation, peaceful solution to conflicts, the courage to admit mistakes, respect for others' privacy, respect for others' rights, recognition of the right to be different, the importance of education, the importance of order and cleanliness, respect for one's parents, etc. The discussion of these values repeats itself along the grades.
What is missing from this list - with no justification - is freedom of religion, religious equality and religious tolerance. In fact, the books are totally devoid of any mention of religion.So even according to UNRWA, human rights are only something that apply to Palestinian Arabs, but Jews do not deserve any.
· The Middle East war is absent from the books. None of the values mentioned: peace, tolerance, peaceful resolution of conflicts, non-violence, etc. is given an interpretation in connection to the conflict. On the other hand, there are few references to aspects of the conflict - all presenting the Palestinians as victims. For example, an exercise includes a picture of two girls sitting next to a tent with a demolished house in the background. The caption reads: "A family whose house was demolished lives in a tent" (Human Rights Curriculum, Grade 3, Part 2 (2010) p. 34). In another example the children of Gaza fly kites "in spite of the [Israeli] siege" (Human Rights Curriculum, Grade 5, Part 2 (2010) p. 66).
· In conclusion, the books - if they are indeed used in school, which I could not ascertain - contribute to the creation of more tolerant atmosphere within Palestinian society (save for Muslim-Christian relations). Their contribution to a peaceful solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is nil, if not negative.
Thursday, February 13, 2014Elder of ZiyonMost Western countries have laws and regulations prohibiting support for terrorists or former terrorists. The US, the UK, Holland, Norway, Sweden and others have debated, proposed and/or passed laws or motions in parliament against giving the Palestinian Authority money that ends up in the hands of terrorists. In spite of their laws and their opposition, these countries continue to fund the PA's general budget, thereby paying tens of millions of dollars to terrorists as salaries and other payments.
Last week, the PA announced that it will be giving an additional $46 million a year to released prisoners, a category which includes hundreds of murderers of civilians. Since the PA cannot cover its monthly budget payments without Western aid, these additional payments to terrorists will also be facilitated both directly and indirectly by Western donor money to the PA.
The official announcement was made by the PA Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Issa Karake, who said that the PA government has approved a regulation of the Prisoners' Law that "is concerned with improving conditions for released [prisoners]," a regulation whose "budget... has been estimated at 160 million shekels a year."
This 160 million shekels ($46 million) for terrorists, including mass murderers, is made possible by international donors. This was made clear in the PA Minister's announcement. He explained that the PA was not able to fund this financial support for released prisoners in 2013 because of its "large budget deficit," so it will only start in 2014:
"Karake noted that the government has acknowledged the importance of the regulation and the need to implement it according to the rules. However, due to the large budget deficit and the PA's financial situation, establishing the budget, which has been estimated at 160 million shekels a year, has been postponed until April [2014]."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Feb. 6, 2014]
Significantly, the PA did not cover its 2013 budget without hundreds of millions of dollars from Western donors, tens of millions of which went directly into the bank accounts of terrorists. Since there have been no reports of massive improvements in the PA economy freeing it of the need to receive Western aid to pay its budget, clearly the PA is counting on Western donor money to facilitate this $46 million to terrorists as well.
The Europeans want their money that comes to us to remain clean - not to go to families of those they claim to be 'terrorists.' [They] need to renounce this occupation (Israeli) mentality. These [prisoners] are heroes, self-sacrificing fighters (fedayyeen), and fighters who fought so that we could live in dignity... These heroes, whom you [the audience] are applauding, must live in dignity, so that we will continue to hold our heads high. We appreciate the people of the revolution and are proud of them.
Thursday, February 13, 2014Elder of Ziyonimpossible peaceIt is not surprising. Palestinian Arabs have been attacking UNRWA, for example, since the very beginning - an organization funded by the world to specifically coddle them. Their leaders say terrorists are heroes. Violence is an inherent part of Palestinian Arab culture, as is the sense of entitlement.Doctors from a public hospital in Nablus organized a demonstration on Wednesday to protest the assault of a colleague by the relatives of a patient being treated in the pediatrics ward.
Dr. Hussein al-Sleibi was assaulted in Rafidia hospital on Tuesday by two relatives of a child, doctors told Ma'an. The family members threatened al-Sleibi and two nurses with a knife during the incident after claiming they were neglecting the patient.
Doctors said they organized the demonstration to protest a growing number of assaults against medical teams.
Director of the Nablus office of the Ministry of Health, Amirah al-Hindi, told Ma'an that the last decade has seen a spike in violent incidents against hospital staff.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014Elder of ZiyonEuropean Parliament President Martin Schulz came under fire Wednesday after making remarks in the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, about the water usage of Palestinians and Israelis in the occupied West Bank.
In his speech, Schulz said that when he was in Ramallah earlier in the week, a young Palestinian had asked him "why an Israeli can use 70 cubic liters of water daily and a Palestinian only 17?" He then added, "I haven't checked the data. I'm asking you if this is correct."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his own address to the Knesset, accused Schulz of repeating claims without fact-checking. "Check first," he said.
Israeli media quoted Israel's national water authority as saying the figures quoted by Schulz were inaccurate with West Bank settlers consuming 1.7 times more water per person, instead of 4.2 times more.
The head of the Palestinian Water Authority has condemned Israel’s destruction of three water wells near Nablus, calling on the international community to intervene.Israel destroying wells! What more do you need to know?
Shaddad Attili said the Beit Hassan wells were used to irrigate 2,000 dunums of land on which several families relied. "It is the ability of these families to stay on their land that Israel is targeting,” Attili said.
He added: "My immediate concern is for the welfare of those Palestinian families and communities affected by the destruction of these wells. Getting water to them is my first priority."
A few days ago Dr Attili sent out a letter denouncing the Israeli destruction of a number of illegal wells located in Beit Hassan, using this as an explanation for his choice to withdraw from the desalination training program.
It is unfortunate that Dr Attili has chosen to take such action, not least as above all, as it is the Palestinian people alone who will suffer as a result of his decision.
In response to his accusation, I think it is essential to inform you of a number of crucial points that Dr. Attili has omitted, which highlight not only the difficulties that we face with regards to cooperation in the water sector, but also expose the customary tiresome Palestinian public relations tactics, which we are forced to deal with on a regular basis.
The decision to shut down the 3 illegal wells in Beit Hassan was agreed upon by both sides, Israeli and Palestinian, at the Israeli-Palestinian Joint Water Committee (JWC) meeting held on 2.12.2007, (see attached signed MoM, paragraph 3).
Several reminders of this decision were sent to the Palestinian Water Authority who reiterated their intention to execute the above-mentioned JWC decision and also promised to submit a report on its implementation (see attached signed JWC MoM from 7.7.09, paragraph 28).
On several occasions the Palestinian side emphasized its commitment to combat the phenomenon of illegal drillings, stating that it is in the best interest for both sides (see attached special decision of the JWC from 13.11.07)
In March 2011, four years after the original joint decision to close down the wells, we requested once more that the JWC decision be implemented (see attached letter). We received a most perplexing response to this in April, stating that "...any decision to demolish a well is unacceptable to the PWA...". On July 5th 2011 we reiterated the urgent need for the JWC decision to be implemented, in order to protect our joint asset.
The decision to shut down the wells in Beit Hassan, which was approved by the JWC in 2007, is not a matter of politics - it is a matter of survival - as it works towards protecting our largest and most important collective vital natural resource. A troubling reminder of the risks attached to unmonitored drillings is the destruction of the Gaza Aquifer, which came about as a result of the large amount of unauthorized drillings.
This cannot and this must not be repeated with the joint Mountain Aquifer, and it is a mystery to us why the Palestinian side does not value its own survival.
It is also important to emphasize that unauthorized drillings are in contradiction with article 40 of Annex III of the Interim Agreement, which Israel fully implements, even surpassing its obligations under the agreement, for instance by supplying the Palestinians with quantities of water far beyond its obligation. The steps taken by Israel in this matter were, as l am sure you would agree, the only remaining option after many efforts to find a solution to this issue through dialogue and negotiation - a solution that had already been devised and acknowledged by both sides - but which for some reason the Palestinians turned back upon. It would have been far preferable for the PWA to resolve this issue itself, as originally agreed.
We usually strive to resolve our disagreements within the JWC, as instructed by the Interim Agreement, rather than by dragging in third parties. While we would not normally respond to such public relations tactics, we feel that it is important that the facts be made clear to all, in order to avoid any potential misinterpretation. Israel gladly meets and will continue to meet with the Palestinian side in the framework of the JWC to discuss common issues, as set by article 40 of Annex Ill of the Interim Agreement as it has done before, for the benefit of both sides.
We hope that in time, the Palestinians will join us in thinking about, and acting upon, our collective vital interests rather than compromising them in the hope of raising public support.
Lt.Col Grisha Yakubovich
Head of Infrastructure Branch COGAT,
Ministry of Defense
Assuming that water negotiations can be de-politicized, cooperation could improve the situation on the ground. A first area for cooperation is the treatment and reuse of wastewater. Out of the 52 mcm/y of wastewater generated by the Palestinian population, 17 mcm/y is flowing untreated into Israel and 33 mcm/y remains in the West Bank where it contaminates the shared groundwater resources. Hence, Israel has an environmental incentive to support and foster the Palestinian wastewater infrastructure. Nevertheless, the Palestinians claim that Israel is blocking their wastewater infrastructure. These claims are invalidated by two memoranda of understanding that were drafted in the framework of the JWC. They were pushed by Israel after the Intifada broke down the cooperation in the field of wastewater.407
The first claim is that Israel is demanding an unreasonable high level of treatment, BOD 10/10.408 The JWC memorandum of understanding from 2003, which was signed by both
parties, agreed on a gradual process to achieve this standard, but starting with the much lower level of BOD 20/30.409 This mutual understanding is reiterated in a second MOU, which has not been signed yet by the Palestinian side.410 Hence, the claim that Israel demands a level of treatment that is unattainable by Palestinian economic standards is false.
The second accusation is that Israel is not allowing the Palestinians to build treatment plants in area C. If the Palestinians want to drill a well in area C, they must obtain a permit of the C.A. in addition to the JWC approval. In the unsigned MOU it is stated that WWTPs will also be built in area C.411 The Palestinians submitted a list of 35 Palestinian wastewater projects. Seven of these projects for the area C are in the approval process. Four of them have an approval of the Sewage JTC,412 two were principally approved by the JWC,413 and one was approved by the ,CA.414 Furthermore, one is already in the process of construction.415 The will to support waste water projects in area C is emphasized also by the Civil Administration.416
Thirdly, it is claimed that Israel demands the wastewater plants to be treating water from the Jewish communities. As the unsigned MOU as well as the aforementioned list demonstrate, no such demands are made by Israel.417 After the Palestinians refused to build joint treatment plants for Jewish communities and nearby Palestinian villages, Israel started to build a network of small collection systems serving only Jewish communities in the West Bank.418 The Palestinian political leadership limited the cooperation in the field of wastewater, although this technology was desired by local municipalities.419 The cooperation clearly stopped with the advent of the second Intifada when the JWC became more politicized. While Israel conditioned other projects on the Palestinian progress in the wastewater sector, the Palestinians presented sovereignty-based objections against the wastewater technology.420
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| The story of Palestinian swimming pools is here |
Thousands and thousands of you rose to the occasion and CCFP cannot express our thanks deeply enough. And we’re not the only ones. We have been given a note from Mr. Marcel Pariseau, Scarlett Johansson’s publicist, thanking her fans for their support. This note of appreciation is from Scarlett to all of you:Scarlett Johansson to receive honorary French Oscar
Scarlett would like to extend her most sincere thanks to the many thousands of people who have supported her these past weeks. Your emails, comments, and tweets have been truly overwhelming and inspiring. It has been wonderful to receive messages from people all over the world who firmly believe that peace is possible.
And a big thank you to Creative Community For Peace for building a bridge between Scarlett and her fans.
Marcel Pariseau
TRUE PUBLIC RELATIONS
The American star, who is engaged to French journalist Romain Dauriac, will receive her “Cesar” at French cinema’s annual gala awards ceremony in the capital on February 28.Major South American Trading Bloc Accepts Israel as Observer State
Johansson, 29, is being recognized for a career in which she has already made nearly 35 films, having first come to the world’s attention as a 14-year-old in Robert Redford’s “The Horse Whisperer.”
The Pacific Alliance is a bloc of five Latin American member states – Costa Rica just joined the initial four members of Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico – designed to promote economic growth specifically by focusing on trade liberalization. Geopolitically, it sits opposite another South American bloc – the “Common Market of the South” (Mercosur) group – which includes Argentina, Venezuela, and Brazil, and which has political ambitions that often align poorly with American interests.
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced today that the Jewish state has been accepted as an observer state of the Pacific Alliance. The move has benefits that go beyond the merely economic, and will see Israel strengthening its overall ties in the region: (h/t MtTB)
Wednesday, February 12, 2014Elder of Ziyon
Islamic Revolution Has Made Iran Pivotal Country in Region, World
Buy EoZ's book, PROTOCOLS: EXPOSING MODERN ANTISEMITISM
