Netanyahu’s statement flummoxed the administration because no Israeli leader has ever stated the obvious bigotry of the US position regarding the so-called settlements so pointedly.
Sometimes nothing infuriating than the truth.
On Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu infuriated the Obama administration when he told the truth about the nature of the internationally supported Palestinian demand that Israel must transfer control over Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem to the Palestinians Jew-free.
In a video address posted to his Facebook page at around dawn Washington time, Netanyahu said, “The Palestinian leadership… demands a Palestinians state with one precondition: No Jews.
“There’s a phrase for that. It’s called ‘ethnic cleansing.’ And this demand is outrageous.”
Netanyahu then turned his fire on the so-called international community that supports this bigoted demand.
“It’s even more outrageous that the world doesn’t find this outrageous,” he said, adding, “Some otherwise enlightened countries even promote this outrage.”
Later that day, Associated Press correspondent Matt Lee asked US State Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Trudeau what the administration thought of Netanyahu’s statement.
Apparently turning to a prepared text, Trudeau declaimed robotically and emphatically, “We obviously strongly disagree with the characterization that those who oppose settlement activity or view it as an obstacle to peace are somehow calling for ethnic cleansing of Jews from the West Bank.
“We believe that using that type of terminology is inappropriate and unhelpful….
We share the view of every past US administration and the strong consensus of the international community that ongoing settlement activity is an obstacle to peace. We continue to call on both sides to demonstrate with actions and policies a genuine commitment to the two-state solution.”
The only thing missing from Trudeau’s response was an explanation of why Netanyahu was wrong. She didn’t explain, nor was she asked, how the US’s opposition to Israel’s respect for Jewish Israelis’ property rights in these areas squares with her denial that its policy supports ethnic cleansing.
To make this point a bit more clearly, here are a few questions that Trudeau was neither asked nor explained on her own, but whose answers are self-evident from the administration’s apoplectic response to every move by Israel to permit Jews to lawfully build homes in Judea, Samaria and unified Jerusalem.
• In the US government’s view, does Israel have the right to pass laws or ordinances for land use in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria? If not, why not?
• And if you do respect Israel’s right to issue rules on land use, why do you oppose the destruction of illegally built structures in Susiya? Why do you oppose the legal purchase of land by Jews in the so-called outposts?
• Under what circumstances is it legal for Jews to buy land beyond the 1949 armistice lines in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria?
• Under what circumstances is it legal for Jews to build homes for themselves in these areas?
Through its consistently stated and deliberately applied policy of totally rejecting all rights of Jewish Israelis to live and build in these areas, from its first days in office, the Obama administration has made clear that it rejects the civil rights of Jews as Jews in these areas and seeks the complete negation of their rights through mass expulsion, property seizure and destruction, that is, through ethnic cleansing.
As Trudeau noted, the Obama administration’s support for the ethnic cleansing of Jews is a continuation (and radicalization) of the policies of its predecessors.
Netanyahu’s statement flummoxed the administration because no Israeli leader has ever stated the obvious bigotry of the US position regarding the so-called settlements so pointedly.
To the contrary, for much of the past 20 years, in a futile attempt to mobilize international support Israel, it has been the consistent policy of successive Israeli governments to ignore the anti-Semitic bigotry at the heart of “otherwise enlightened” nations’ rejection of Jewish civil rights.
The problem for Israeli leaders has been that the so-called “two-state solution” which successive governments have been strong-armed by “otherwise enlightened countries” into supporting is predicated on the ethnic cleansing of Jews.
You cannot have a “two-state solution” unless Israel forcibly expels more than a half million Jews from their homes in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem.
In his remarks, Netanyahu argued that it is impossible to base peace on bigotry. And of course he is right. Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 proved his point.
Eleven years ago, with the support of ideologically driven jurists and journalists and the Bush administration, then prime minister Ariel Sharon suspended the rule of law in Israel when he denied the due process rights of 10,000 Israelis lawfully residing in lands to which they had legal title in Gaza and northern Samaria, and denied their supporters’ the right to lawfully protest his policies.
Far from convincing the Palestinians or their “otherwise enlightened” supporters of Israel’s commitment to peace, Sharon’s actions convinced them that there is no downside to supporting ethnic cleansing of Jews in furtherance of a Jew-free Palestine.
Hamas’s victory in the Palestinian elections the following year, and the Bush and later Obama administrations’ increasingly extreme rejections of Jewish rights across the board in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria proved that limited enactment of ethnic cleansing of Jews merely whets the “otherwise enlightened” nations’ appetite for more.
Rather than point out this state of affairs, until last Friday, Israel’s leaders pretended it away. And then, all of the sudden, Netanyahu decided to overturn the applecart.
Lee asked Trudeau whether the administration was demanding that Netanyahu “walk back” his statement. Trudeau gave no answer.
But it wouldn’t matter if they were. It is too late.
As Trudeau’s non-denial response showed, Netanyahu’s statement was the truth. The anti-settlement policies of the Obama administration and its predecessors are founded on the anti-Semitic assumption that Jewish civil rights – as opposed to everyone else’s rights, are conditional. When Jewish rights collide with the internationally supported demand for a Jew-free Palestine, Jews and Jewish Israeli governments become “obstacles to peace.” That is, they become evil and therefore deserving of persecution.
As Trudeau was failing to explain how the US’s support for ethnic cleansing was anything other than support for ethnic cleansing, The Jewish Press reported that the administration-supported pro-ethnic cleansing group J Street is lobbying the IRS to trample the civil rights of a group that rejects ethnic cleansing.
According to the report, J Street’s president Jeremy Ben-Ami sent an email to the group’s membership announcing that he is lobbying the IRS to revoke the non-profit status of Regavim. Regavim is a private group that documents illegal Palestinian construction.
Regavim works to convince the courts and the government to enforce land laws without prejudice to Jews and non-Jews alike. For rejecting anti-Jewish bigotry, Ben-Ami wrote, Regavim acts in defiance of US government policy. As a consequence, J Street is seeking to deny Regavim’s American supporters their right to lawfully donate and raise funds on behalf of Regavim’s lawful activities.
Netanyahu’s decision to tell the truth about the anti-Semitic nature of the anti-settlement movement was a watershed event. From now on, leaders from Ramallah to Washington to Brussels will have to account for their anti-Jewish policies.
For the first time, the Israeli government has made clear that there is no distinction between the civil rights of Jews in Tel Aviv, Beit El or New York.
Like every other national, religious, ethnic, racial and other group in the world, Jews have the right to exercise their civil rights to property. And if the Palestinians and their “otherwise enlightened” supporters don’t like it, that’s their problem, not ours.
@ bernard ross:
J & S are integral parts and parcels of the land of the Jews (Jerusalem is integral part of IL and exclusively). However the US & EU are important “enemies” of the Jews and IL needs to have a consensus on how to thread the needle. These “enemies” need to be treated “friendly” because they can make life very difficult for IL.
With Trump as President, there may be an opportunity to tell the Pal & the Sunnis that they have one and only one chance to do what is right (no preconditions now or ever) and if they blow it, the US will defund all the organizations (UN, UNWRA, passing anti-NGOs laws that are against Il etc, in other words decimate the support provided by the antisemites (including putting extreme pressure on the EU countries to stop blackmailing IL!
watsa46 Said:
It is BB who is weakening israel with his fake distractions and intentional aiding of muslim and euro bldg Isreal would be strengthened by building… it would even be strengthened by stating:
“JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN YS IS LEGAL AND LEGITIMATE”
do you beleive those words are too controversial for a jew to say?
Why does BB avoid the words… what could be more anti semitic than avoiding even saying those few words which are 100% factual?
BB never contradicts those who say jews are illegitimate and illegal in YS so why complain that others keep saying it when the jewish state NEVER contradicts it?
are you also afraid of those words?
You should demand from BB that he repeats those words over and over again every day to the defamers in europe and the USA… and ask him to throw the euros out of YS.
do these words create a tsunami:
“JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN YS IS LEGAL AND LEGITIMATE”
oops, my bad, I said them again…. and I will keep saying them until it seeps in.
@ watsa46:
sorry but your comment is still too vague and unfocused….what headaches are being created for BB, by whom…. try to be clear… are you just saying that BB should have a free hand to continue to fool folks? So far I cant see anything in your comments to me which specifically address anything… it sounds like you dont want BB’s BS to be addressed…if you dont agree with the facts I asserted then point out the ones you dont agree with and state why. All I see is that you want BB given a free pass to continue to pretend that he is the settler champion when he does nothing to settle jews in YS and does everything to facilitate euros and muslims.. intentionally for 9 years…. the fact that he never states that the Jewish settlement is legal and legitimate is the proof of the pudding. His current red herring is baloney, a fake distraction, if you believe otherwise then state why… the only argument i ever hear for BB baloney is that the foreigner make him do it…. its baloney.
@ bernard ross:
Small Israel has plenty of enemies, the worst of which are antisemitic Jews. Enough headaches for Bibi. No need to add more headaches and weakening IL even further!
Do U understand now?
watsa46 Said:
Sorry, but I don’t understand your comment… what “more tsunami”, and created by whom?
@ bernard ross:
With the excess of antisemitic Jews, why create more tsunami within Israeli Jews?
Oops; double posting deleted.
they do not bar jews from YS, they bar Israelis under the GC which Israel signed. it is Israel which designated the land to be administrated as occupied territory under the GC. All they need say is that it is not jews who are barred but Israelis.
I have discussed this conflict many times and suggested that the way around the GC, and at the same time complying with the LON mandate settlement directives,is to settle diaspora jews en masse by giving them free land grants in order to settle it massively and quickly. This can be touted as an affirmative action program designed to mitigate the prior damage caused world jewry by the obstruction of the uk, jordan and Israel to settlement of jews. They cannot be banned as Israelis under the GC if they do not receive their citizenship prior to being given the land and settling. Israel can state that any nation administrating the territory has the continuing obligation to settle jews which has been obstructed by all the govs including Israel. each of the 3 govs obstructed the settlement of world jewry in a perceived self interest unrelated to the rights of world jewry. There is no reason why world jewry should be prevented from settling in the designated area and no reason for reducing the land area given for that settlement.
BTW, caroline, property rights of individuals and soveriegnty rights of states are two entirely different legal concepts. It is not the property rights of a few jews left behind at stake here but the rights of sovereignt of the Jewish people. The state of Israel has actually de facto abandoned its agency of world jewry as it has prevented and obstrcted world jewry from its ONLY right and interest in the mandate territory. Basically the state of Israel has squandered the interest of the beneficiary of the trust.
what Israel needs is a shurat ha din that takes the gov of Israel to court for violating international law by preventing Jews from “immigration and close settlement” in all the designatied land west of the Jordan river.
what I find “outrageous” is the hypocrite BB and his followers who preside over a jewish state which facilitates illegal euro bldg of muslim homes in the lands earmarked for Jewish settlement in all relevant internationally binding legal documents.
what I find outrageous is BB presiding over a so called jewish state which allows more muslim anti semitism and abuse of jews than France.
what I find outrageous is a PM of a Jewish state who has obstructed Jewish settlement outside the ghetto for 9 years and has NEVER NEVER NEVER uttered these words, which to him must be outrageous:
“JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN YS IS LEGAL AND LEGITIMATE”
come BB its time the either STFU or start a massive program of building jewish homes in the jewish homeland rather than be known as he who prevented jews from living in Judea Samaria/
what utter rubbish…. what about the “obvious bigotry” of the repeated Israeli govs who prevent Jews from settling in the lands that the gentiles recognized and earmarked for the Jewish settlers. Stop pointing fingers at others for what you dont do…. stop whining and start building!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bear Klein Said:
BWAAAHAHHAHHAHAHHAHHAHHA
a watershed event??????
What would indeed be a watershed event would be BB saying these words which he has NEVER, NEVER, NEVER uttered in the past 9 years of his reign:
“JEWISH SETTLEMENT IN YS IS LEGAL AND LEGITIMATE”
What would be a bigger watershed would be if BB actually created some new settlements OUTSIDE the major settlement blocks in the massive empty gov lands inherited from the brits and turks and earmarked by the gentiles for “immigration and close settlement of the Jewish people”.
Instead of a real watershed event BB, and his regular fig leaf apologist Glick, is pointing a finger at everyone else in order to distract from the fact that it is BB who obstructs Jewish settlement, it is BB who has facilitated euro illegal bldg for 9 years in area C, it is BB who allows gives the pals land in C to build.
this is a typical bit of BB sleight of mouth where he has everyone discussing a red herring instead of looking at what BB does NOT do. this champion of Israeli settlement rights wants the suckers to focus on the peanut shell of pals not wanting Jews in YS when it is BB who keeps preventing Jews in YS while trying to take credit for announcements of settlements that never get built and now painting himself as the …..LOL…. champion of settlers.
Is that BB’s goal… to forget about settling the vacant jewish homeland with jews and instead concentrate on the pals allowing a few jews to remain after he gives them all the vacant land outside the ghetto boundaries of the major blocks.
LOL, BB is always saying that everyone knows that those major blocks will be retained in any future settlement…. so what he should be talking about is settling the next million Jews in the Jewish homeland.
Why would BB even consider leaving Jews in the hands of pals when 3 female idf soldiers were about to be lynched in tulkarm a couple of days ago? Why would he even consider giving one inch of the jewish homeland to the scum who teach their children that jews are sons of apes and pigs… instead of seeking peace with jew killers … instead of wishing them a happy eid to such jew killers… instead of giving them a hundred thousand permits to bathe at the beach in tel aviv… instead of seeking to facilitate their economic development and comfort………. INstead, those who teach their children that jews are sons of apes and pigs should be slaughtered in the gutter like rabid dogs and no peace should ever be sought with such lunatics.
these folks agree with BB
BB and his apologists have suceeded in moving Israeli discussion to focus its energy on fighting for a few jews in a couple of outposts after the homeland is given away RATHER than concentrating on settling millions of Jews in the vacant gov lands as the gentiles envisioned in the LON mandate. It takes the Jews to screw up what was already given to them.
It is the same BB tactic used when he started only arguing for settlement in Jerusalem and everyone then forgot completely about any new settlements in YS… Its no coincidence. BB is a fraud, a fake, a pretender of champion settler causes but the only settlements outside the ghetto are approved for muslims.
Come BB, stop the distractions…………… BUILD JEWISH HOMES OUTSIDE THE EURO/OBAMA DESIGNATED GHETTO BOUNDARIES….. stop begging the scum to allow a few token jews to be dhimmis in a muslim nation.
@ ml:
There will be PEACE once G-D realizes his/her mistake and get rid of humans!
The question is straight forward:
Is the Palestinian Authority leadership’s demand that a Palestinian state be ‘Judenrein’ (German: from which Jews are excluded) an act of judicial ‘force’ (measured/proportionate response) or illegal ‘violence’ (unwarranted escalation; unjust injury)?
Without ‘just cause,’ the answer may only be the latter, and therefore a perpetration of violence against the Jews/Israel; ie: “ethnic cleansing”!
If a bigoted Obama et al can’t handle/abide this truth, they have no place in public office.
On the other hand, by all the murderous violence perpetrated by the Palestinians against the Jews, Israel does have just cause to employ a measured response in separating Arabs/Muslims from Israel.
The just consequences of the Arabs’/Muslims’ malfeasance.
It’s about time Obama et al self-cleanse their self-serving double standards.
Israel, A light unto the nations! But there is a huge/cosmical problem! There is not enough “LUMENS” in the whole Universe to enlighten the unlighted!
“We must be ready to sacrifice all for our country Israel.
For history does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid. We must continue to acquire proficiency in defense and display determination and stamina in purpose.” Never surrender – we are fighting for our survival and the alternative is extinction. Israel’s mission first and foremost is to take care of the Jewish people and insure their safety and security in Israel. Israel’s obligation is to its Jewish People and not to pacify the world at large. The historical facts are that for thousands of years the world at large has always persecuted the Jewish people and stood idle while millions of Jews are exterminated and persecuted. Right now we are in a badly separated, internally struggling, and bickering state both within Israel and also in the Diaspora. And our enemies are happily latching onto this internal fragmentation exploiting us against each other and leading successful campaigns against us on all fronts. No political wisdom, trickery or weapons and a mighty army can save Israel or Jews worldwide unless we rise above our differences, above our argumentative nature and form a single united Nation that is impenetrable. And that wouldn’t just save us but would blaze a trail of hope for others in this crazy world where there are no allies or friends any more only enemies waiting for the opportunity to destroy each other. We may not agree on everything, but we must respect each other and work together for our common goal which is survival in this hostile world which is on a spiral of deterioration.
“A United Israel is a Strong Israel”
YJ Draiman
Israel must build at least 100,000 housing units per year in Judea and Samaria for the next 10 years and more. It also needs to build 3 secure superhighway connecting Judea and Samaria to Israel.
Construct extensive military bases in Judea and Samaria to protect the people and the country.
Israel also needs to build at least 50,000 housing units per year in greater Jerusalem. Open Atarot airport and a high tech center and more industry, and build many additional roads and secure highways in and from Jerusalem with expanded rail system.
Israel must also build a minimum of 10,000 housing units in the Galil and 10,000 housing units in the Negev every year for the next ten years and expand the infrastructure, roads and highways. They have to expand industry and commerce to enhance the desire of people to live in the Galil and the Negev.
Construct military bases and local agencies in Judea and Samaria to protect and help the people and the country.
YJ Draiman
P.S. The Arabs have already an Arab Palestinian state which is on Jewish land over three times the size of Israel, east of the Jordan River; it is called Jordan where 80% of the population are Arab Palestinians and the Arabs in Judea and Samaria have a Jordanian passport.
Oslo accords are null and void. Israel must dismantle the Arab PA and include Judea and Samaria as a continuous part of Israel. Transfer Arab population to Jordan, Gaza and to the homes and the over 120,000 sq. km. the Arab countries confiscated from the Million Jewish families they expelled who now reside in Israel.
YJ Draiman
Looks like “the administration,” having realized that it can’t control events in Chicago, where 3000 people have been shot, 500 of whom are dead to date, has turned its control sights on Israel where it can potentially preside over the death and injury of even more people, although admittedly these are only Jews…