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20 hours ago
Monday, 1 June 2009
Israel Matzav: Why 'West Bank settlements' must stop
Why 'West Bank settlements' must stop
At The American Thinker Vel Nirtist calls on President Obama to at least be consistent. Israel Matzav: Why 'West Bank settlements' must stopHaving a legitimate title is one thing, but being cognizant of the "facts on the ground," the fact of heavy Arab presence in the West bank is another -- and time and again, the Israelis were willing to negotiate, compromise, share the land. Somehow, this willingness got translated into a bizarre notion that the West Bank is Arab by right, and that the only solution to the conflict is for the Israelis to withdraw. "Illegal Israeli settlements on the occupied Palestinian land which prevent the solution of Arab-Israeli conflict" became an integral part of the political discourse. Hence, the desire to remove those "barriers to peace," stifling their growth as demanded by President Obama through Secretary Clinton being the first step in that process.
Read All at :
Israel Matzav: 'Worse than Pharoah'
'Worse than Pharoah'
At the Passover seder, Jews around the World say, "Go out and learn what Lavan the Aramite wished to do to our forefather Jacob, for Pharoah only decreed that the males [should die] and Lavan wished to uproot everything." Science Minister Daniel Hershkowitz (Jewish Home) alluded to that passage today when he referred to President Obama's 'no natural growth in the settlements' decree as being 'worse than Pharoah.' Read All at ;
Israel Matzav: 'Worse than Pharoah'
Israel Matzav: Abu Mazen feels the love
Abu Mazen feels the love
'Moderate' 'Palestinian' President Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Abu Mazen feels the love
Israel Matzav: That old UN double standard
That old UN double standard
There was a great editorial in Saturday's National Post that ripped the UN 'Human Rights Council' for its double standard in praising Sri Lanka's defeat of the Tamil rebels while condemning any action Israel takes against Hamas.
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Israel Matzav: That old UN double standard
Israel Matzav: Obama to try to bury Israel in Cairo speech
Obama to try to bury Israel in Cairo speech
On Thursday, June 4, the day before the 42nd anniversary of the Six Day War's outbreak, American President Barack Hussein Obama will attempt to set in motion a process that will push Israel back to the armistice lines of 1949, if not to those of June 4, 1967. Israel Matzav: Obama to try to bury Israel in Cairo speechExpectations are high for Obama’s Middle East visit, which begins with a meeting with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia in Riyadh on Wednesday to discuss the Arab peace initiative and relations with Iran before he arrives in Egypt the next day.
The goal of two states living side by side, with the holy sites in Jerusalem under international jurisdiction, is to receive a new push by Obama.Read All at :
Israel Matzav: Shock and horror: Understandings reached with Bush administration now 'worthless'
Shock and horror: Understandings reached with Bush administration now 'worthless'
Israeli negotiators who met with emissaries of President Obama in London last week to try to work out a compromise regarding the 'settlement freeze' discovered to their shock and horror that all of the understandings that the Sharon and Olmert governments had reached with Bush administration were now 'worthless.' Israel Matzav: Shock and horror: Understandings reached with Bush administration now 'worthless'The Israeli delegates were stunned by the uncompromising U.S. stance, and by statements from Mitchell and his staff that agreements reached with the Bush administration were unacceptable. An Israeli official privy to the talks said that "the Americans took something that had been agreed on for many years and just stopped everything."
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HIGH-QUALITY POLITICAL CYNICISM GALORE
High-Quality Political Cynicism Galore
The Ministerial Legislation Committee stopped the draft of the Loyalty Law in its tracks.
A bit of context may be called for, as this matter, like most, is barely understood by most observers while being widely cited. In order for a law to be legislated in Israel, it must pass three readings, three seperate votes, in the Knesset. If it's initiatied by the government, it fmust irst pass a ministerial committee even before the first reading. After the first reading it goes to a parliamentary committee (or three), which can eviscerate it, change it to mean something else, block it indefinately, or forget it forever - or, occasionally, pass it back to the full Knesset for legislation. If legislation is not supported by the government, it can nonetheless be submitted by an individual MK or 30 of them, but in that case it must pass four readings: a preliminary one, a committee, and then the mandatory three readings.
And all this is merely the outline. Bismarck famously quiped that there are two things one can enjoy upon completion but should never observe in the making: sausage and legislation; this is as true for Israel as anywhere. It just so happens that some of my best friends are lobbyists, and damn good ones, too, and I've watched many of the shticks from close up. Getting a law passed in Israel requires either the bulldozer of the Finance Ministry on your side, or lots of talent and experience.
So whenever some populistic politician moots some idiotic idea for an outlandish law, the fact that it passes the first of four readings is almost meaningless. It's an act of futile grandstanding. 100% of the legislators involved know the chance of the law ever being enacted are slim to non-existent, depending on how idiotic it is. But no matter.The point is to appear to be trying, to score brownie points for intentions. Since the system won't ever let it happen, there's nothing to lose but lots to gain: if you're behind the law, you'll be interviewed by lots of media outlets and your constituents will see you. If you're scandalized by the law, you'll be interviewed by lots of media outlets and your constituents will see you. If you're a media type, you'll have lots of fun footage of passionate politcians talking through their hats, you'll be able to report breathlessly on the dramatic events, and your ratings will rise. If you're an NGO who lives off donations from foreign folks, you'll be able earnestly to tell them of your heroic efforts to fight the good fight; some NGOs work harder at putting out English-language press-releases than at Hebrew ones, since the Hebrew ones are pointless but the English ones go into dramatic files for donors.
Sooner or later the law will reach some adults who bear real responsibility, and they'll shoot it down. The Loyalty Law, for example, was apparently voted down in something like 30 seconds, with no discussion: Yaacov Neeman, Minister of Justice, going through the meeting's agenda, reached this line and curtly noted that there'd be no discussion, merely a vote, who's for who's against, the majority's against, the law's rejected next item.
And note who did the voting: government ministers, not the Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI). Cabinet members from Likud, Shas, haBayit haYehudi, and of course Labor - the first three solidly on the Right. These people aren't idiots. They recognize a destructive and imbecillic law when they see one, and dispose of it with no qualms.
All of which leaves the question, why try in the first place if everyone knows it won't happen? Why give the Guardian and the Juan Coles of this world unnesseccary grist for their mills? A fine subject for a different post, someday. Though I will note that no matter how childish the politicians-media-NGO activists are, the foreign reporters who eagerly take only part of the story and use it to damn Israel shouldn't be exonerated. They could tell the same story I've just told you, but scrupulously won't, ever.
A bit of context may be called for, as this matter, like most, is barely understood by most observers while being widely cited. In order for a law to be legislated in Israel, it must pass three readings, three seperate votes, in the Knesset. If it's initiatied by the government, it fmust irst pass a ministerial committee even before the first reading. After the first reading it goes to a parliamentary committee (or three), which can eviscerate it, change it to mean something else, block it indefinately, or forget it forever - or, occasionally, pass it back to the full Knesset for legislation. If legislation is not supported by the government, it can nonetheless be submitted by an individual MK or 30 of them, but in that case it must pass four readings: a preliminary one, a committee, and then the mandatory three readings.
And all this is merely the outline. Bismarck famously quiped that there are two things one can enjoy upon completion but should never observe in the making: sausage and legislation; this is as true for Israel as anywhere. It just so happens that some of my best friends are lobbyists, and damn good ones, too, and I've watched many of the shticks from close up. Getting a law passed in Israel requires either the bulldozer of the Finance Ministry on your side, or lots of talent and experience.
So whenever some populistic politician moots some idiotic idea for an outlandish law, the fact that it passes the first of four readings is almost meaningless. It's an act of futile grandstanding. 100% of the legislators involved know the chance of the law ever being enacted are slim to non-existent, depending on how idiotic it is. But no matter.The point is to appear to be trying, to score brownie points for intentions. Since the system won't ever let it happen, there's nothing to lose but lots to gain: if you're behind the law, you'll be interviewed by lots of media outlets and your constituents will see you. If you're scandalized by the law, you'll be interviewed by lots of media outlets and your constituents will see you. If you're a media type, you'll have lots of fun footage of passionate politcians talking through their hats, you'll be able to report breathlessly on the dramatic events, and your ratings will rise. If you're an NGO who lives off donations from foreign folks, you'll be able earnestly to tell them of your heroic efforts to fight the good fight; some NGOs work harder at putting out English-language press-releases than at Hebrew ones, since the Hebrew ones are pointless but the English ones go into dramatic files for donors.
Sooner or later the law will reach some adults who bear real responsibility, and they'll shoot it down. The Loyalty Law, for example, was apparently voted down in something like 30 seconds, with no discussion: Yaacov Neeman, Minister of Justice, going through the meeting's agenda, reached this line and curtly noted that there'd be no discussion, merely a vote, who's for who's against, the majority's against, the law's rejected next item.
And note who did the voting: government ministers, not the Association of Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI). Cabinet members from Likud, Shas, haBayit haYehudi, and of course Labor - the first three solidly on the Right. These people aren't idiots. They recognize a destructive and imbecillic law when they see one, and dispose of it with no qualms.
All of which leaves the question, why try in the first place if everyone knows it won't happen? Why give the Guardian and the Juan Coles of this world unnesseccary grist for their mills? A fine subject for a different post, someday. Though I will note that no matter how childish the politicians-media-NGO activists are, the foreign reporters who eagerly take only part of the story and use it to damn Israel shouldn't be exonerated. They could tell the same story I've just told you, but scrupulously won't, ever.
taken from : Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations
YONA BAUMEL, RIP
Yona Baumel, RIP
Yona Baumel died on Friday. He was 81, a father, grandfather and great-grandfather; he'd had a successful career; until some weeks ago he came daily to the early minyan at our synagogue, and then stuck around for the 6:30 Talmud session in the Shabbat tractate. Yet for all this, his identity was as the father of Zachariya Baumel, a tank crewman missing in action since June 1982.
Zachariya went missing during the Sultan Yaakob battle on June 10th 1982, a night-long battle in which a Syrian division ambushed a battalion-plus IDF tank unit. The Syrians were on the hilltops surrounding the Lebanese village of Sultan Yaakob, which lies in a valley; it ended only the next morning, when backup IDF units took over the hills. Two IDF tank crews were missing, including Baumel's. The Syrians claimed to know nothing about this, but a year or so later they suddenly admitted they'd been holding Arik Lieberman, one of the missing, all along, and exchanged him for some Syrian PoWs; this gave credence to the possibility they were still holding additional Israelis.
Yona Baumel spearheaded decades of efforts to force his government (Israel) to insist on the Syrian's divulging everything they knew. The Syrians never obliged, but Baumel felt the Israelis hadn't been trying hard enough, and the story was never laid to rest.
Israel's enemies being the callous and inhumane bastards they are, it's hard to know what the truth really was, and Israel's various leaders have certainly proven repeatedly less competent than one would like. The very ambush at Sultan Yaakob was probably the result of horribly mistaken IDF decisions in the first place - not to mention that the whole war was largely stupid. Personally, I have thought for a long time that Zachariya and his friends were killed that night, not captured. None of which was of any help to his parents. Yona has now taken his unresloved pain with him to his grave. The story is part of our national fabric, to the extent that his death is noted in the media, and we all know who he is.
Zachariya went missing during the Sultan Yaakob battle on June 10th 1982, a night-long battle in which a Syrian division ambushed a battalion-plus IDF tank unit. The Syrians were on the hilltops surrounding the Lebanese village of Sultan Yaakob, which lies in a valley; it ended only the next morning, when backup IDF units took over the hills. Two IDF tank crews were missing, including Baumel's. The Syrians claimed to know nothing about this, but a year or so later they suddenly admitted they'd been holding Arik Lieberman, one of the missing, all along, and exchanged him for some Syrian PoWs; this gave credence to the possibility they were still holding additional Israelis.
Yona Baumel spearheaded decades of efforts to force his government (Israel) to insist on the Syrian's divulging everything they knew. The Syrians never obliged, but Baumel felt the Israelis hadn't been trying hard enough, and the story was never laid to rest.
Israel's enemies being the callous and inhumane bastards they are, it's hard to know what the truth really was, and Israel's various leaders have certainly proven repeatedly less competent than one would like. The very ambush at Sultan Yaakob was probably the result of horribly mistaken IDF decisions in the first place - not to mention that the whole war was largely stupid. Personally, I have thought for a long time that Zachariya and his friends were killed that night, not captured. None of which was of any help to his parents. Yona has now taken his unresloved pain with him to his grave. The story is part of our national fabric, to the extent that his death is noted in the media, and we all know who he is.
taken from :Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations
ON THE SUPERIORITY OF SNOTTINESS
On the Superiority of Snottiness
Nicholas D. Kristoff theorizes about differences between Liberals (he likes) and Conservatives (he doesn't). He starts out with an observation that Liberals are more likely to slap their fathers than Conservatives. My father died many years ago, at a time in my life when I certainly would have fit Kristoff's definition of Liberal, but I can't concieve of a scenario in which I would have slapped him. Not even in order to be politically correct.
Could you?
Could you?
taken from:Yaacov Lozowick's Ruminations
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