Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Ahmadinejad hangs out with the Hidden Imam

Interesting stuff from Amir Taheri in WSJ:

Is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a closet Persian nationalist trying to de-Islamize Iran? Is he part of a plot to send the mullahs back to the mosques to make way for an Islamist military regime?

These are some of the questions raised in the Majlis, Iran's ersatz parliament, by members who are trying to impeach the president. As astonishing as this might be for Western observers, Ahmadinejad is challenged by people who claim that he is not Muslim enough and that he harbors a hidden anti-clerical agenda to promote a mixture of messianism and chauvinism. His closest friend and aide, Esfandiar Rahim Masha'i, has even suggested that "within one year Ahmadinejad's enemies would declare him to be an infidel."

The charge that Ahmadinejad is trying to push the mullahs out of power is based on his own claim that he has a direct line of communication with the Hidden Imam, a Messiah-like figure in Shiite Islam who is supposed to emerge at the end of time to install eternal justice.

Ahmadinejad constantly talks of the Hidden Imam but almost never mentions Ruhollah Khomeini, the mullah who created the present regime. Nor is Ahmadinejad keen to pay tribute to Khamenei. A man who talks to God wouldn't bother with mere saints.

Several times a year, Ahmadinejad takes his entire cabinet to Jamkaran, a suburb of the "holy" city of Qom south of Tehran, to report to the Hidden Imam. In Jamkaran there is a well that is supposed to lead to the place where the Hidden Imam is in hiding. In a solemn ceremony, Ahmadinejad throws copies of his government's budget and other edicts into the well for consideration by the Hidden Imam.

The message is clear: A government that is preparing for the end of times, under the command of the Hidden Imam, does not need the mullahs.

Isn't it reassuring to know that the people who are most likely to topple Ahmadinejad are even more fundamentalist?

Gazans shooting white phosphorus shells into Israel. UN silent.

We all know that white phosphorus is the most hideous substance known to man, and represents the depths of immorality and scandal - but only when it is used by Israel.

Otherwise, no biggie.

From Israel's Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center:

1. On November 19, a phosphorus-containing mortar shell was fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. It was part of an unusual attack consisting of four rockets and seven mortar shells, which may have been fired in response to the killing of Islam Yassin, an Army of Islam operative who was planning to abduct Israelis in the Sinai Peninsula. The Israeli Foreign Minister instructed the Israeli ambassador to the UN to submit a complaint to the UN Secretary General and to the Security Council chairman (Israel's Foreign Ministry website, November 19, 2010).

2. In a previous incident which took place on the morning of September 15, 2010, one day after the Sharm el-Sheikh summit,1 terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip fired an exceptional number of rockets and mortar shells at Israel (about 10 rockets). The mortar shells landed in the Eshkol Regional Council territory. At least two of them were 120-mm mortar shells which contained white phosphorus.2 No casualties or damage were reported.

3. Terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip have used phosphorus-containing mortar shells before. In Operation Cast Lead, a number of such mortar shells were fired on IDF forces, probably by Hamas. Prior to these two incidents, however, terrorist organizations operating in the Gaza Strip avoided making routine use of such mortar shells.

In the two incidents, Hamas denied using phosphorus-containing mortar shells:

- Hamas administration spokesman Taher al-Nunu claimed that Foreign Minister Lieberman’s remarks on the use of phosphorus shells were untrue. He said they were designed to cast the “resistance” (i.e., the terrorist organizations) in a negative light and provide an excuse for Israel’s own use of such ammunition (Al-Quds TV, November 20, 2010).

- Spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri claimed that no “phosphorus bombs” had been fired at Israel and that Israel was making an attempt to justify its intensifying military operations against the Gaza Strip and divert public opinion on the international scene (Palestine-info, September 15, 2010).

- On the other hand, an Al-Jazeera reporter said that the use of phosphorus was hardly a surprise. Al-Jazeera crew doing a research piece on the activity of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades (the Hamas military wing) had discovered that they recycled white phosphorus from Israeli shells found in the Gaza Strip and stored it in the Gaza Strip, apparently for future use (Al-Jazeera, September 16, 2010).

(h/t Joel)

Erdogan accepts "human rights" award, criticizes freedom of expression

Palestine Today reports that Turkey's Prime Minister received Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights in Tripoli, Libya, on Monday.

In his speech, he said that Turkey would not allow any attack on Islam or Islamic values under the pretext of freedom of expression.

He mentioned that the lives of Gaza's children are sacred.

He also said that Turkey would not remain silent and indifferent to violence in the world.

For some reason, he did not use the Armenian genocide as an historic example of the world's silence and indifference to violence.

Jordanian kicks Israelis out of her restaurant. Jordanians cheer.

From Al Arabiya:

A Jordanian woman gained tremendous fame after refusing to receive a group of Israeli tourists at her restaurant in protest of the crimes of the Jewish state against the Palestinian people.

Several professional associations and rights organizations praised the action taken by Salwa al-Barghouti when she decided to kick Israeli tourists out of her restaurant in the coastal city of al-Aqaba, 370 kilometers off the capital Amman.

Barghouti represents all the Jordanian people in their rejection of the Zionist state, said Maysara Malas, head of the Higher Executive Committee for Anti-Normalization.

“Many Jordanians take similar actions, yet nobody knows about them because the media doesn’t know what they do,” he added.

News of Barghouti’s stance spread all over Jordan and shortly after, she made headlines and several media outlets vied for posting her statements.

“I heard customers entering the restaurants speak Hebrew,” she told the press. “I felt extremely angry and remembered all the crimes Israel is committing against Palestinians, so I asked them to leave.”

Barghouti said she does not approve of the strong attention that was given to her action by the media.

“I am against dealing with Zionists in any possible way and I see this as very normal.”

The Israeli tourists who were kicked out, Barghouti added, filed a complaint against her and she was summoned by state security.

“They asked me to sign a document pledging not to mistreat tourists or kick them out of my restaurant again, but I refused.”

Barghouti insisted on her stance and stressed that she will act in the same way if a similar situation takes places.

“My position will never change and I will never allow Israelis into my restaurant,” she concluded.

She told one newspaper that the way to identify Israeli tourists is if they have jewelry with a Star of David, or if they are wearing some type of head covering (translated as "hood.")

She was praised by a Jordanian committee against normalization with the Zionist enemy.

Latest nefarious Zionist plot to "storm" the Temple Mount

Palestine Today quotes Arutz-7 about the latest insidious Zionist plan to "storm the Al Aqsa Mosque."

On Chanukah, Jews plan to peacefully go to the Temple Mount and study where the various parts of the Second Temple were.

They quote an organizer of this plot as saying that the Islamic Movement in Israel brings hundreds of people there to teach them about the history of Al Aqsa Mosque, so this would be roughly the same thing, since both of those activities are educational.

Horrors!

Maldives Islamic Foundation: "Israelis coming to steal our organs"

From Minivan News (Maldives):

The Islamic Foundation of the Maldives has reiterated calls to the Maldives government to “shun all medical aid from the Zionist regime” with a team of seven Israeli eye surgeons due to arrive in the country next month, claiming that Isreali doctors and surgeons “have become notorious for illegally harvesting organs from non-Jews around the world.”

An article on the Foundation’s website titled “Beware of Israeli eye surgeons” claims Israeli medical teams have harvested organs from dead Haitians after the devastating earthquake that struck country as well as from Palestinians killed in fighting in the longstanding Arab-Isreali conflict.

“The health authorities in Maldives have to take utmost caution in allowing Israeli medical surgeons into this country and Maldivians who apply for treatment from these doctors have to take precautionary measures to avoid any foul play,” it reads.

A day after the government-run Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) announced the imminent arrival of the Israeli doctors, the Islamic Foundation called on the government not to normalise relations with the Jewish state or “accept any sort of assistance from Israel as long as they are in the lands of Palestine.”

President of Islamic Foundation Ibrahim Fauzy told Minivan News last week that the Foundation does not recognise Israel as a state, asserting that “it is also against our religion to have relationships with Jews.”

The Islamic Foundation website says:

Not long after the news of the horrible earthquake that struck Haiti, Israeli medical teams jumped on the scene to harvest organs from dead or injured Haitians. There have been various reports of allegations on the news media about Israeli medical teams working in disaster zones secretly stealing organs from fresh corpses.

Organ harvesting is a long standing practice by Israeli medical establishment who profit from the criminal act or are rewarded in many ways.

Israel has secretly been removing body parts (including skin and bones) of Palestinians to be used on its injured soldiers and Jews who require surgical transplanting of organs.

While the Maldives has zero freedom of religion - one may not practice any religion besides Islam openly, and non-Muslims may not become citizens - the readers of the Minivan article were overwhelmingly dismissive - and even hostile - towards the Islamic Foundation.

Blog update

Still trying to recover the blog to a reasonable style, and not happy with spending this much time on it.

On some browsers/machines, it seems to look reasonable; on others, the background is a sickly green. I cannot figure out why. Somehow there is a CSS or something that is overriding the template settings I chose, but for some reason they do not override when you view an individual post, just the home page.

I do not think I will even try to put it back the way it was.

As for comments, they were supposed to have migrated over to the correct posts...and that doesn't seem to have happened. I don't know enough about the comment system yet to know whether you can search for your old posts; I honestly haven't had time to play with it as I try to fix the template.

The one bit of good news is that Ruthie will not need to add the titles of the post to the comment threads anymore!

Que sera sera...

To counter a planned boycott action, a number of organizations have designated Tuesday as Buy Israeli Goods day.

If you live in a major metropolitan area in North America, this site has a list of local stores that carry Israeli goods. Ask the store manager specifically what he sells from Israel - and buy the goods you need!

Otherwise, you can go to one of the many sites that sell Israeli goods online, like Israeli Products, Shop in Israel or The Zionist Mall (run by the excellent The Vicious Babushka blog.)

Chanukah starts on Wednesday night, so get shopping and join the Buycott!

OK, I screwed up the blog

I made some mistake as I was trying to upgrade the comments...and I made a very bad newbie mistake: I didn't back up my template.

Now I am not sure I can recover. Working on it, but things will be screwy for the foreseeable future.
Sorry!

Ahmadinejad admits Stuxnet damaged centrifuges

From the NYT:

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that “undoubtedly the hand of the Zionist regime and Western governments is involved. ” He also publicly acknowledged, apparently for the first time, that the country’s nuclear program had been disrupted recently by a malicious computer software that attacked its centrifuges.

Speaking at a news conference, Mr. Ahmadinejad vowed the nuclear program would continue, but acknowledged damage from the computer worm. “They succeeded in creating problems for a limited number of our centrifuges with the software they had installed in electronic parts,” he said.

Iranian officials had previously acknowledged unspecified problems with Iran’s centrifuges, which are used to enrich uranium that can be used for peaceful energy generation or atomic weapons. But the Iranians had always denied the problems were caused by malicious computer code.

A worm known as Stuxnet is believed to have struck Iran over the summer. Experts said that the program, which is precisely calibrated to send nuclear centrifuges wildly out of control, was likely developed by a state government.

Mr. Ahmadinejad did not specify the type of malware or its perpetrators but said that “fortunately our experts discovered that and today they are not able anymore.”

If they are admitting a little, that means that they got damaged a lot.

See also Fox News' Stuxnet article.

(h/t Zach)

Which 2010 Elder post was the best example of hasbara?

It didn't seem becoming to nominate anything I did this year for the Hasby Awards, since there is a little conflict of interest there, but a number of people did place nominations for postings and videos of mine.

Here they are, with some of my favorites added.

So here you can vote on what you think was the best/most effective EoZ activity this year:

1. Happy Nakba! What really happened in Jaffa, 1948

2. Kfar Hashiloach ("Silwan"), 1891 and 1932

3. Gaza Mall - the video!

4. The camera angle that the Dubai police withheld

5. "Civilians"

6. The Mamilla Cemetery: Arab hypocrisy at its worst and Mamilla Update

7. Muslims freak over WJC meeting

8. The horror of the refugee camps:

9. Stomach-turning deprivation at Gaza museum

10. Saeb Erekat - I am a liar

11. The If/Then Fallacy

12. The Death Owl (Zvi)

13. Invest in Gaza!

14: Gaza: The "staggering quality of the very ordinary"

15. Tisha B'Av - a reason to cry

16. The Abbas/Apartheid Poster Series

Vote!

Afternoon links

Iran's war against the West on social media sites by Israeligirl

Palestinian revisionism is the only obstacle to peace by Danny Ayalon (sorry, forgot who to h/t)

Israel vs. the International Criminal Court by Anne Herzberg

On Thanksgiving, Turkey is eating up US interests by Barry Simon

Jeffrey Goldberg (and many others, including a major Farsi-language site) noticed my post on Iran sending weapons to Lebanon hidden as medical aid. But how can he make two spelling mistakes on my name?

Norman Finkelstein goes completely off the rails (h/t Silke)

National Geographic on Israel's biblical archaeology wars (h/t O)

Finally, some hard metal for Chanukah. The only thing that would make this more awesome would be if they sang it in the original Yiddish: (h/t YK)

Wikileaks: How to negotiate with Iranians (1979)

Here's a notable cable, from 1979 - in the wake of the Islamic revolution in Iran - on how Iranians think, and what precautions diplomats need to take in negotiating with Iranians.

INTRODUCTION: RECENT NEGOTIATIONS IN WHICH THE EMBASSY HAS BEEN INVOLVED HERE, RANGING FROM COMPOUND SECURITY TO VISA OPERATIONS TO GTE TO THE SHERRY CASE, HIGHLIGHT SEVERAL SPECIAL FEATURES OF CONDUCTING BUSINESS IN THE PERSIAN ENVIRONMENT. IN SOME INSTANCES THE DIFFICULTIES WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED ARE A PARTIAL REFLECTION ON THE EFFECTS OF THE IRANIAN REVOLUTION, BUT WE BELIEVE THE UNDERLYING CULTURAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL QUALITIES THAT ACCOUNT FOR THE NATURE OF THESE DIFFICULTIES ARE AND WILL REMAIN RELATIVELY CONSTANT. THEREFORE, WE SUGGEST THAT THE FOLLOWING ANALYSIS BE USED TO BRIEF BOTH USG PERSONNEL AND PRIVATE SECTOR REPRESENTATIVES WHO ARE REQUIRED TO DO BUSINESS WITH AND IN THIS COUNTRY. END INTRODUCTION.

¶3. PERHAPS THE SINGLE DOMINANT ASPECT OF THE PERSIAN PSYCHE IS AN OVERRIDING EGOISM. ITS ANTECEDENTS LIE IN THE LONG IRANIAN HISTORY OF INSTABILITY AND INSECURITY WHICH PUT A PREMIUM ON SELF-PRESERVATION. THE PRACTICAL EFFECT OF IT IS AN ALMOST TOTAL PERSIAN PREOCCUPATION WITH SELF AND LEAVES LITTLE ROOM FOR UNDERSTANDING POINTS OF VIEW OTHER THAN ONE'S OWN. ...

¶4. THE REVERSE OF THIS PARTICULAR PSYCHOLOGICAL COIN, AND HAVING THE SAME HISTORICAL ROOTS AS PERSIAN EGOISM, IS A PERVASIVE UNEASE ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE WORLD IN WHICH ONE LIVES. THE PERSIAN EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN THAT NOTHING IS PERMANENT AND IT IS COMMONLY PERCEIVED THAT HOSTILE FORCES ABOUND. IN SUCH AN ENVIRONMENT EACH INDIVIDUAL MUST BE CONSTANTLY ALERT FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO PROTECT HIMSELF AGAINST THE MALEVOLENT FORCES THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE HIS UNDOING. HE IS OBVIOUSLY JUSTIFIED IN USING ALMOST ANY MEANS AVAILABLE TO EXPLOIT SUCH OPPORTUNITIES. THIS APPROACH UNDERLIES THE SOCALLED "BAZAAR MENTALITY" SO COMMON AMONG PERSIANS, A MIND-SET THAT OFTEN IGNORES LONGER TERM INTERESTS IN FAVOR OF IMMEDIATELY OBTAINABLE ADVANTAGES AND COUNTENANCES PRACTICES THAT ARE REGARDED AS UNETHICAL BY OTHER NORMS.

¶5. COUPLED WITH THESE PSYCHOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS IS A GENERAL INCOMPREHENSION OF CASUALITY. ISLAM, WITH ITS EMPHASIS ON THE OMNIPOTENCE OF GOD, APPEARS TO ACCOUNT AT LEAST IN MAJOR PART FOR THIS PHENOMENON. SOMEWHAT SURPRISINGLY, EVEN THOSE IRANIANS EDUCATED IN THE WESTERN STYLE AND PERHAPS WITH LONG EXPERIENCE OUTSIDE IRAN ITSELF FREQUENTLY HAVE DIFFICULTY GRASPING THE INTER-RELATIONSHIP OF EVENTS. WITNESS A YAZDI RESISTING THE IDEA THAT IRANIAN BEHAVIOR HAS CONSEQUENCES ON THE PERCEPTION OF IRAN IN THE U.S. OR THAT THIS PERCEPTION IS SOMEHOW RELATED TO AMERICAN POLICIES REGARDING IRAN. THIS SAME QUALITY ALSO HELPS EXPLAIN PERSIAN AVERSION TO ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY FOR ONE'S OWN ACTIONS. THE DEUS EX MACHINA IS ALWAYS AT WORK.

¶6. THE PERSIAN PROCLIVITY FOR ASSUMING THAT TO SAY SOMETHING IS TO DO IT FURTHER COMPLICATES MATTERS. ...

¶6. FINALLY, THERE ARE THE PERSIAN CONCEPTS OF INFLUENCE AND OBLIGATION. EVERYONE PAYS OBEISANCE TO THE FORMER AND THE LATTER IS USUALLY HONORED IN THE BREACH. PERSIANS ARE CONSUMED WITH DEVELOPING PARTI BAZI--THE INFLUENCE THAT WILL HELP GET THINGS DONE--WHILE FAVORS ARE ONLY GRUDGINGLY BESTOWED AND THEN JUST TO THE EXTENT THAT A TANGIBLE QUID PRO QUO IS IMMEDIATELY PRECEPTIBLE. FORGET ABOUT ASSISTANCE PROFERRED LAST YEAR OR EVEN LAST WEEK; WHAT CAN BE OFFERED TODAY?

¶7. THERE ARE SEVERAL LESSONS FOR THOSE WHO WOULD NEGOTIATE WITH PERSIANS IN ALL THIS:

- --FIRST, ONE SHOULD NEVER ASSUME THAT HIS SIDE OF THE ISSUE WILL BE RECOGNIZED, LET ALONE THAT IT WILL BE CONCEDED TO HAVE MERITS. PERSIAN PREOCCUPATION WITH SELF PRECLUDES THIS. A NEGOTIATOR MUST FORCE RECOGNITION OF HIS POSITION UPON HIS PERSIAN OPPOSITE NUMBER.

- --SECOND, ONE SHOULD NOT EXPECT AN IRANIAN READILY TO PERCEIVE THE ADVANTAGES OF A LONG-TERM RELATIONSHIP BASED ON TRUST. HE WILL ASSUME THAT HIS OPPOSITE NUMBER IS ESSENTIALLY AN ADVERSARY. IN DEALING WITH HIM HE WILL ATTEMPT TO MAXIMIZE THE BENEFITS TO HIMSELF THAT ARE IMMEDIATELY OBTAINABLE. HE WILL BE PREPARED TO GO TO GREAT LENGTHS TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, INCLUDING RUNNING THE RISK OF SO ALIENATING WHOEVER HE IS DEALING WITH THAT FUTURE BUSINESS WOULD BE UNTHINKABLE, AT LEAST TO THE LATTER.

- --THIRD, INTERLOCKING RELATIONSHIPS OF ALL ASPECTS OF AN ISSUE MUST BE PAINSTAKINGLY, FORECEFULLY AND REPEATEDLY DEVELOPED. LINKAGES WILL BE NEITHER READILY COMPREHENDED NOR ACCEPTED BY PERSIAN NEGOTIATORS.

- --FOURTH, ONE SHOULD INSIST ON PERFORMANCE AS THE SINE QUA NON AT ESH STAGE OF NEGOTIATIONS. STATEMENTS OF INTENTION COUNT FOR ALMOST NOTHING.

- --FIFTH, CULTIVATION OF GOODWILL FOR GOODWILL'S SAKE IS A WASTE OF EFFORT. THE OVERRIDING OBJECTIVE AT ALL TIMES SHOULD BE IMPRESSING UPON THE PERSIAN ACROSS THE TABLE THE MUTUALITY OF THE PROPOSED UNDERTAKINGS, HE MUST BE MADE TO KNOW THAT A QUID PRO QUO IS INVOLVED ON BOTH SIDES.

- --FINALLY, ONE SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR THE THREAT OF BREAKDOWN IN NEGOTIATIONS AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT AND NOT BE COWED BY THE POSSIBLITY. GIVEN THE PERSIAN NEGOTIATOR'S CULTURAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL LIMITATIONS, HE IS GOING TO RESIST THE VERY CONCEPT OF A RATIONAL (FROM THE WESTERN POINT OF VIEW) NEGOTIATING PROCESS.

I would guess that things are a little different now, only because the Iranian leadership is committed to a policy of lying about and hiding its nuclear program as a state-level function, not merely on the personal plane that this cable is speaking about. But it is still illuminating, and probably not far off from the truth.

"We're tapping phone lines - I know that that ain't allowed"

From Ha'aretz:

The United States broke an Israeli code and tapped the secure phone line in the Israeli Embassy in Washington without Jerusalem's knowledge.

That revelation about Israeli-American relations did not come from WikiLeaks, but rather from former ambassador to Washington Itamar Rabinovich, in a radio interview yesterday.

Rabinovich did not say exactly when the code was broken and when Israel found out about it, but it was understood from his remarks that the tap started after his 1993-1996 tenure in the U.S. capital and was discovered only years later.

The former envoy said that every staffer at the Israeli Embassy in Washington is warned about possible leaks of conversations held in the building and on ordinary phone lines, but also on the secure phone line.

After the Americans broke the code, Israel's deepest policy secrets were apparently exposed.

"Every 'juicy' telegram was in danger of being leaked," Rabinovich told Army Radio's Razi Barkai. "We sent very few of them. Sometimes I came to Israel to deliver reports orally. The Americans were certainly tapping the regular phone lines, and it became clear that in later years they were also listening to the secure line."

Imagine the outcry that would be sweeping the world now if it was Israel caught tapping US diplomatic phone lines.

It is no secret that allies spy on each other, and when such activities are caught, they are usually handled discreetly. But shouldn't Israel make a stink, just once, in order to get Jonathan Pollard finally released?

Wikileaks: Netanyahu's critique of the Lebanon war, and more

An interesting memo from a meeting between Representative Gary Ackerman and Binyomin Netanyahu while he was opposition leader in April, 2007:

Netanyahu commented that Shimon Peres had admitted to
him that the Oslo process had been based on a mistaken
economic premise, and as a result European and U.S.
assistance to the Palestinians had gone to create a bloated
bureaucracy, with PA employees looking to the international
community to meet their payroll. Netanyahu predicted that
Palestinians would vote for Abbas if they believe that he can
deliver the money. He suggested putting in place an
"economic squeeze with an address," so that Hamas would
receive the popular blame. Asked if Fatah knew how to
conduct an election campaign, Netanyahu said the Palestinian
patronage system should be forced to collapse, which would
have an immediate impact since the entire Palestinian economy
was based on graft and patronage. Instead, he asserted, the
opposite was happening. Hamas was also handling the prisoner
release issue well since they had created the impression that
Hamas was in control of the process and "sticking it to the
Israelis."

Turning to the Second Lebanon War, Netanyahu said the
problem was not the war's goals but rather the disconnect
between goals and methods. If the IDF had used a flanking
move by a superior ground force, it could have won easily.
Instead, Israel "dripped troops into their gunsights," an
approach he termed "stupid." The top leadership had lacked a
sense of military maneuver. In addition, they had been
afraid to take military casualties, but instead got many
civilian casualties. If Olmert had mobilized the reserves in
ten days, seized ground, destroyed Hizballah in southern
Lebanon, and then withdrawn, he would be a hero today.

Netanyahu asserted there was a growing sense in the
public that he had been right in the last election.
Unilateral "retreats" (i.e. such as the withdrawals from Gaza
and southern Lebanon) were the wrong way to go. Israel had
allowed an Iranian enclave to establish itself in Gaza.
Syria was arming itself for the first time in 20 years,
Hizballah had rearmed since the war, and Gaza was being
turned into a bunker. Egypt was not doing on a twelve mile
front along the Gaza border what Jordan was doing on a
150-mile front. The way out was to stop Iran, thereby
dealing with the octopus, not just its tentacles.

Netanyahu stated that a return to the 1967 borders
and dividing Jerusalem was not a solution since further
withdrawals would only whet the appetite of radical Islam.
Ackerman asked if the Palestinians would accept peace based
on the 1967 lines. Netanyahu said he would not agree to such
a withdrawal since the 1967 lines were indefensible, but he
added that the "right of return" was the real acid test of
Arab intentions. Instead of Israel making more step-by-step
concessions, Israel should insist that further concessions be
linked to reciprocal steps toward peace. The Palestinians
must drop the right of return and accept Israel's right to
exist. The Arab initiative did not meet this standard since
it keeps the right of return open. Israel will only have a
peace partner when the Palestinians drop the right of return.
Asked whether Israel could accept case by case exceptions,
Netanyahu insisted not one refugee could ever return. Israel,
after all, was not asking for the right of Jews to return to
Baghdad or Cairo.

Netanyahu said UNSCR 242 was not a bad formula since
it did not specify precisely from which territories Israel
would withdraw. After the withdrawals from Gaza and Lebanon,
there was deep disillusionment among Israelis about the
principle of land for peace. Even the noted Israeli leftist
writer AB Yehoshua had said in a recent interview that he
despaired about peace because the Arabs wanted all of Israel.
From 1948 to 1967, the conflict had not been about occupied
territories, but that point had been obscured by "effective
propaganda." The root of the conflict was an Arab desire to
destroy Israel, which had now become part of the larger
ambitions of radical Islam.

The 1967 borders were not the solution since Israel
was the only force blocking radical Islam's agenda of
overrunning Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Netanyahu proposed that
Israel offer to work with the Saudis against Iran. If Iran
was not stopped, there would be no agreement with the
Palestinians, and the peace treaties with Jordan and Egypt
would come under tremendous pressure. There could be no
deterrence against "crazies" such as Ahmadinejad.