Friday, November 8, 2013

Kerry's Backhanded Threats

Michael L.

{Cross-posted at Geoffff's Joint, Bar and Grill.}

The piece below was written by Arlene from Israel:

November 8, 2013: HE'S CROSSED THE LINE!

I'm talking about John Kerry, and actually, he's crossed it twice.

I had no time to write today, with Levy Report work and a very early Shabbat. But I must write, ever so briefly, because people must know about this.

Yesterday, Kerry, who is here, gave a TV interview. And this is what he said (emphasis added):

"The alternative to getting back to the talks is the potential of chaos. Does Israel want a third intifada?"

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/280009

I repeat: Does Israel want a third intifada?

This is a form of intimidation and blackmail: Israel, make additional concessions to the PA, or face the consequences of violence.

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Not an acceptable way to talk to Israel. Either we make concessions because it's good for us in terms of a deal to be struck, or we shouldn't make concessions.

Violence? We'll have to brace for it if it comes, cope with it. Make a lot of arrests, send out a lot of police and troops, and, who knows? maybe take aim at the heads of a few of the perpetrators of violence that threatens innocent Jewish life, so that people get the message not to fool with us. (I speak for myself and not officially, of course.)

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But folks, this is not the worst of what Kerry did. The interview was with Udi Segal, of Israel's channel 2 and also with Maher Shalabi, of Palestinian TV.

And so, what Kerry is also guilty of, besides intimidation and blackmail, is incitement. He was speaking to a Palestinian Arab audience as well. And he was giving the nod to their being violent if they are not happy with the Israeli stance.

This is the chief diplomatic officer of the United States of America? This is the despicable low to which the US has fallen?

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The urgency in writing has to do with my sense that Americans who love Israel -- and I know you are legion! -- need to know what Kerry did. You are likely to be outraged along with me,

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Please! translate that outrage into action. Do not sit still for a secretary of state who speaks to Israel thus. To protest to the White House or State Department is pointless.

Contact your representatives of Congress. Protest this in the strongest terms. DEMAND that intimidation of Israel stop. Call for the firing of Kerry. He doesn't qualify as dog catcher of Washington DC.

For your Congresspersons:

http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

For your Senator:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

And, please, share this posting absolutely as broadly as you can, encouraging others to also protest Kerry's behavior.

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On the flip side of this vile behavior, we can see encouraging news. Kerry is desperate or he wouldn't be speaking this way. Pay no attention to his babble about how much progress has been made in just days. He is not getting from Israel the concessions he is seeking.

What is more, he has now thoroughly and completely discredited himself with the Israeli government, which had no official comment. I don't know this from official sources but understand it intuitively. He is less likely now, not more likely, to have the leverage to convince our government of anything. One unnamed Israeli official called this, from Kerry, "a worrying and dangerous precedent."

I would say that, should Arab violence increase in the wake of this interview, any Jewish blood that is spilled would be on Kerry's hands.

Let us stay strong, and hold fast to our rights.

Much more - in particular on Iran - coming soon.

Shabbat Shalom.
I do not know that Kerry was intentionally trying to threaten Israel with a third terror war if it refuses to capitulate to Palestinian-Arab demands, but the effect is that of a threat.  He is essentially telling the local Arabs that they have every right to commit violence against Jews if the Jews refuse to submit to their marching orders.

The Palestinian Authority glorifies violence against Jews and among people like Kerry (not to mention Obama or, say, Peter Beinart) that violence is justified because they see Israel as a "colonial-settler oppressor state" or some such propagandistic formulation.  They would never say that they think that violence toward Jews is justified, nor do I suppose that they would even think it, but that's entirely irrelevant.  By articulating what amounts to the "Palestinian narrative" of never-ending Jewish guilt and general Palestinian-Arab innocence they give the local Arabs every reason to believe that they are right to seek the murder of the Jewish people around them.  If this were not the case they might consider strongly objecting to genocidal Arab incitement toward Jews, but they do not.

One of the biggest mistakes that we have made within the diaspora Jewish community, if not the Jewish community more generally, has been in incorporating the "Palestinian narrative" into our way of thinking on the conflict and it is for that reason that so many diaspora Jews oppose "settlement activity."  Yet, by opposing Jews who build housing for themselves in Judaea and Samaria we essentially capitulate to the idea that the Jewish minority in that part of the world deserve whatever beatings the Arabs wish to dish out.

Some would argue that we must oppose the settlements because Israel can be a democratic state or a Jewish state, but not both if it annexes Judaea and Samaria.  Thankfully, I am not calling for any such annexation.  The point is that we should not reward Arab racism toward Jews by agreeing with Mahmoud Abbas that any future state of "Palestine" must be Judenrein.

Palestinian-Arab culture is toxic to everyone in the region, including the Palestinian-Arabs themselves, because it is drowning in resentment and hatred and violence and that resentment, hatred, and violence is stoked by Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority, not to mention Hamas.

They are raising up yet another generation of Arabs who are taught that Jews are evil and that even the Devil, himself, is Jewish.

There are those who would argue that the Jewish people in Israel have oppressed the local Arabs which is why they are hate-filled toward Jews.  This is false because it confuses cause with effect.  The check-points and restrictions that sometimes apply to local Arabs are not the source of their hatred, but a response to their hatred and it is a very old hatred, indeed.

Fourteen centuries of theologically-based loathing of Jews is the central core of the problem.  Until the Arab majority moves beyond their medieval prejudices, the conflict will continue and increasingly toward their own detriment.

By the way, I would very much recommend Jonathan Tobin's recent discussion of the matter at Commentary entitled, Kerry Tips the Scales Against Israel.

As he writes:
Even before his latest intervention, there was a good chance the Palestinians would use the eventual collapse of these talks as an excuse for more violence. But now they more or less have Kerry’s seal of approval for such behavior. While American diplomats have made some terrible mistakes in the last 20 years in pursuit of Middle East peace, it’s hard to recall a precedent for this sort of incompetence.
I could hardly agree more.

12 comments:

  1. I can hardly believe it. Yes, Jewish blood will be on his lousy hands.

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    1. Y'know Doodad,

      I do not know what he thinks that he's doing, but what Kerry is doing is basically the Good-Cop / Bad-Cop routine, wherein he plays the good cop.

      He's basically saying, "Look, I'm with you, but that guy over there is going to kick your ass if you don't take my advice."

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  2. He stated quite clearly "The US has always considered (all) settlements to be illigitimate". This is Obama's official position. As a matter of policy - if this is what Obama believes then his move from ally to neutral to opposition makes sense. Now that Kerry is in Geneva celebrating the Iranian nuclear weapons program, now that Obama routinely leaks vital intelligence intel on Israel, now that seemingly Obama suggests he will ignore Congress on Iranian sanctions I think we can get an understanding of what Obama would like to see happen to Israel.

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    1. Trudy, I disagree.

      Obama does not want to see Israel destroyed - if that is your implication - what he wants is it subdued and compliant and he may very well get his wish.

      Netanyahu just released a bunch of murderers of Jews and I do not know that I can forgive him for that.

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    2. He seems the epitome of one that is oblivious because he believes that a subdued and compliant Israel will achieve peace when it foreseeably do the opposite. The destruction that will follow from the shortsightedness will be great. The oblivious generally do not personally feel the effects.

      Often, these people claim a monopoly on virtue. If one does not nod YES to them, then one is painted as not virtuous.

      The views and beliefs of these people are based on ignorance that borders on stupidity. For example, most have no clue of the Arab-Nazi ties, that the disputed territories were illegally occupied by Arabs in the first place, and or the like. Except for Marxist Jews among them, they know nothing of antisemitism and downplay persecution of Jews because they cannot be subjected to it.

      The biggest irony is the way they pretend to be the smart ones, but they are loaded down with theories that appear sound, yet have little basis in reality. It is farce to believe that if you treat all people they way you like to be treated, that they will reciprocate. Or that all evils are due to the West and peoples do not behave badly otherwise.

      Can it get any more foolish?



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    3. There's only so far you can stretch the analogy of 'he's just mislead, he's not fully engaged, it's just political words and such'. Certainly Obama's not to call for a missile strike on the Jews like his base would like. But as a passive President, one who knowingly lets all the events around him swirl about doing what they like and wrapping himself in the cloak of isolationism and so called diplomacy, he's simply doing what he always does - outsources all his decisions and actions to people and groups who can. If Obama - a many used to pounding his fist and unilaterally getting own way, can't, he'll shuffle off the job to the Iranians or the Turks who need not concern themselves with the political restrictions we have here. Obama wants to see the end of the Jewish state and Jews there humbled into an oppressed minority status underneath an Arab Muslim majority. Perhaps he's deluding himself that Obamastan would resemble Morocco or Tunisia but if it turns into any other ethnically cleansed Arab state that's probably ok with him too.

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    4. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but even the worst poll I can recall on Democratic attitudes toward Israel still shows that a majority favors Israel.

      I'm going to have to go ahead and disagree with your claim that the president's base calls for a missile strike on Jews.

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    5. Jay, imo, is correct.

      Despite the fact grassroots / netroots of the Democratic Party has made a home of itself to the BDS movement, majorities of Democrats still favor Israel.

      That is unquestionably the case, given the polling.

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    6. What you note is certainly right, as well, Mike.

      That is why I think it's so valuable for people like me to remain here, and fight the good fight, from inside the party susceptible to BDS bigots.

      (sticking a plug here for Allyson Schwartz, the next governor of Pennsylvania, our second Jewish governor ever, and a very pro-Israel one, at that!)

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  3. Can you imagine a U.S. Secretary of State speaking this way to any other country?

    I cannot.

    Moreover, can you imagine a U.S. Secretary of State speaking this way to any other country that the U.S. government says that it is an ally of?

    I cannot.

    ----

    Is the US an ally of Israel? - A chronological look at the evidence, by Francisco Gil-White

    The Secret War Against the Jews, by John Loftus and Mark Aarons

    ----

    On the Orwellian use of the terms ‘left’ and ‘right.’ - And on the dangers therein to Israeli politics, by Francisco Gil-White

    ----

    THE PROBLEM OF JEWISH SELF-DEFENSE - Part 3. What is the problem with the Israeli ruling elite? Is it stupidity? Or is it something else?, by Francisco Gil-White

    Understanding Annapolis - What you don't know could cost you - What is the Israeli government doing?, by Francisco Gil-White

    The Real Netanyahu - Is he defending Israel?, by Francisco Gil-White

    Netanyahu’s speech at Bar Ilan University - An interpretation, by Francisco Gil-White

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    The Psychology of Populations under Chronic Siege, by Kenneth Levin

    Explaining Jewish Political Behavior, by Barry Rubin

    The Paradox of the Jewish Mind, by David Solway

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    Documentaries:

    THE NAZIS AND THE PALESTINIAN MOVEMENT
    http://vimeo.com/69991225

    "Traces the history of PLO/Fatah, now better known as the 'Palestinian Authority,' the organization that will govern a future Palestinian State. The video shows how PLO/Fatah emerged from the German Nazi Final Solution. Hajj Amin al Husseini, father of the Palestinian Movement, creator of Fatah, and mentor to Yasser Arafat and Mahmoud Abbas, was co-director with Adolf Eichmann of the death camp system that exterminated between 5 and 6 million European Jews in WWII."

    WHAT IS PALESTINE? WHO ARE THE PALESTINIANS?
    http://vimeo.com/77053361

    "The video dispels certain myths concerning the origin of the name 'Palestine' and of the 'Arab Palestinians.' It documents that the 'Arab Palestinians' are in fact mostly from other places, and migrated to what is now Israel at the same time as the Zionist Jews, many of them because of the economic boom that the Zionist Jews produced in what was then British Mandate Palestine. The Zionist Jews did not steal the 'best' land from Arab landowners but in fact purchased abandoned desert and swamp land from absentee Arab landlords who were quite eager to sell. This was explained by Hajj Amin al Husseini himself. Husseini, father of the Palestinian movement, launched his fourth terrorist attack against the Jews of the Mandate in 1936-39. The violence was so great that the British sent a team to investigate. When questioned, Husseini admitted that the Zionist Jews had not stolen anybody's land but in fact had bought it. In fact, Husseini had been among the major consolidators and sellers of land, and growing tremendously rich by it."

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    1. The Glazov Gang - Secular Palestinian Leader, Mudar Zahran, Supports Israel [Video]

      Jordan is the Arab 'Palestinian' state.

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      Furthermore:

      "...But [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's publicly mentioning the role of Haj Amin al Husseini in the Nazis' committing of the Holocaust] is good news.

      "Those who would like better news still should disseminate the information about Husseini as widely as possible.

      "Then perhaps Netanyahu (or whoever) can be forced to do what this information demands: put a stop to the Oslo Process and evict PLO/Fatah (and Hamas) from Israel (including Gaza)."

      -- Francisco Gil-White, "Netanyahu’s speech at Bar Ilan University"

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  4. Can you imagine a U.S. Secretary of State speaking this way to any other country?

    Yes of course - every president has spoken thus - to enemies.

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