The Temple Mount Faithful used to go by that name only, but now prefer to be called the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful movement. Such faithful Jews and devout Israelis worked on my behalf to obtain citizenship, even though Gershon Salomon told me he felt it could harm my efforts since liberal Jews don’t appreciate those who love Israel.
It was great seeing American-Israeli author and attorney, Howard Grief, on the video considering we’ve been involved in many Temple Mount Faithful demonstrations together and attended Meir Kahane’s yahrzeit (and the police were out in full force to photograph all who were gathered).
I sent a photo-copy of a page from The Jerusalem Post, Letters To The Editor section, Fri., Aug. 25, 1995 (Av 29, 5755) to American Jewish friends since it included a letter from me and one from a lawyer friend with this written at the top:
Shalom!
Howard Grief is a lawyer & one of my Israeli friends to write a letter of recomm. for me (for citizenship). I was one of Gershon’s “loyal followers” who was blessed to shield him from further harm.
David
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
POLICE BRUTALITY
Sir, – On Tisha Be’av, when we
mourn the destruction of both the
First and Second Temples, which
also symbolized the end of Jewish
statehood, I, like hundreds of others,
proceeded to the Mugrabi Gate, at
the Temple Mount, hoping to gain
entry, in accordance with the Su-
preme Court ruling rendered a few
days earlier. However, the sloped
narrow entrance was blocked by
dozens of police, who after a certain
while, upon signal, tried to break up
the assembly that had legally gath-
ered there.
To my horror and disbelief, I then
witnessed a series of acts that were
sheer and unmitigated police brutal-
ity that tarnishes and defames the
good name of the Jewish State.
In one instance, a policeman re-
peatedly beat and shoved an old
woman who refused to leave the
spot, where she had a perfect right to
be. When others in the crowd went
to her assistance, they too were at-
tacked. In another instance, a haredi-
dressed man was knocked to the
ground when he protested in a digni-
fied way the violent removal of an-
other person who was defending
himself against excessive police
force being used to eject him from
the site. Anyone who dared to open
their mouth to comment on what
was occurring before their very eyes
was immediately subject to police
assault.
Most shocking of all was the ill-
treatment accorded the leader of the
Temple Mount Faithful, Gershon
Salomon, whose persistence in se-
curing Jewish rights of prayer on the
Temple Mount finally won the en-
dorsement of the Supreme Court.
But this great accomplishment was
frustrated by what appeared to be
police “coordination” in advance
with Arab opponents of Jewish
rights of prayer on the Temple
Mount. Arabs were purposely incit-
ed to create the necessary “security
threat” which enabled the police to
close the Temple Mount to Jewish
prayer. Salomon, who was seriously
wounded in action in the Six Day
War on the Syrian front and as a
result suffers from a permanent
walking disability, had to endure the
gross indignity of being seized by
the police and dragged away by sev-
eral husky officers who then put him
down on the pavement where he
received a hard blow to his head that
caused him to lose consciousness.
By good fortune, he was saved from
being trampled upon by the milling
throng, by a few of his loyal follow-
ers, who helped to shield him from
further injuries. It is incredible that a
man of Salomon’s stature should
have been subject to this kind of
vicious treatment by the police!
One wonders how Jewish police
in the Jewish State can behave in
such a cruel and savage fashion to
fellow Jews, which has no precedent
in the history of the state. HOWARD GRIEF
Jerusalem
DISCRIMINATION
Sir- What is going on here?
Jews are forcibly prevented from
praying, undemocratically denied
free access to the Temple Mount,
and cruelly evicted by other Jews!
What a spectacle for the whole
world to watch! All this in a “Jew-
ish State.”
If this had happened anywhere
else, the Jewish community would
be up in arms. We would have wit-
nessed an outpouring of righteous
indignation and heard deafening
cries of antisemitism. But the double
standard does not end there.
If it had been Christians or Mos-
lems who received such shabby
treatment from Israeli policemen,
the UN would have quickly con-
vened to condemn such a callous
display of religious discrimination
and demand an immediate end to the
flagrant violation of religious rights
Israel has sworn to uphold.
It is all too evident that the Tem-
ple Mount is not “in our hands.” It
remains under a defiant Moslem oc-
cupation that continues to mock Is-
raeli sovereignty. The Temple
Mount is not in our hands because it
is not in our hearts and minds. This
is a terrible indictment against our
political and religious “leaders.” I
doubt Jews prayed for 2,000 years to
return to Zion and pray at a wall. DAVID BEN-ARIEL
Jerusalem
Israel needs to go on the offensive as regards all her rights, needs, wants and best interests
Bill, I must say I totally agree with that statement,I am impressed.
Don’t take it personally but, over 50 years in business and having to deal with attorneys I find I am in agreement with most of my business associates, they lack common sense. Unfortunately a majority of attorneys are overly impressed with themselves. That is why I am not too impressed with some judges. You can have a jerky attorney who is popular and elected to serve on the bench however, sitting on a high chair and wearing a black robe doesn’t change anything, a jerky attorney is now a jerky judge.
The nations are fickle. Israel’s right to survive and thrive is God-given and they’ve suffered for despising that fact and seeking salvation through politics and men.
A Jewish Homeland
Weren’t the Jews prophesied to return to Israel? Are the Jews ethnic Jews or merely converts? How should Israel treat their resident Arabs? Why does the world focus on Jerusalem?
Israel’s Only Way Out: Follow Kahane!
Israel must make concessions, Israel must do this, Israel must do that, while the Arabs continue to get away with mass murder and terrorism (while promising peace and feigning ignorance), aided and abetted by the international community…
Yamit, you are unnecessarily confining yourself to one argument based on the bible for Israel to advance to assert her rights and convince the West at least to accept that argument. It is akin to putting all your eggs into one basket.
I am speaking of several bases of argument to assert rights which could include, the bible, history, the San Remo Agreement, laws of contract, UNSCR 242 as well as capitalizing on past and recent history of the consequences not only to Israel but other Western nations of appeasing intractable Jew/Israel/Western hatred and haters.
I will expand a bit on making an argument based on the law of contract.
I expect, the world over that where individuals, organizations, institutions and governments enter into contracts and those contracts are breached by the other party or the other party’s consideration offered and given to support their end of the bargain, fails, that the innocent party has remedies for either damages, being restored to the position they had before entering the contract or both.
The various interim agreements between Israel and the Palestinians have all been breached by the Palestinians in one way or another.
Israel has been singled out by the world in the sense that Palestinian breaches of agreement are ignored and Israel is expected to live with that and not demand back that which she gave in good faith.
Israel should be incorporating into her narrative that Israel should and must have the same rights and remedies as the rest of the world. That argument holds some promise that it will strike a responsive chord, at least with fellow democratic nations, provided that position is taken directly and without equivocation.
Israel however, has not made that argument. Israel has not made any statement or taken any position to declare its past agreements with the Palestinians, null and void. Israel has not demanded back that which she gave to the Palestinians in good faith.
Israeli administrations have failed miserably to advocate Israeli rights, needs and best interests. Rather, Israel has continued to adopt a defensive posture to Palestinian/Arab demands and as regards the 2 state solution that Sharon signed onto.
Thus, Israel has tried to explain her position and concerns in relation mostly, if not exclusively to her security needs.
Israel needs to go on the offensive as regards all her rights, needs, wants and best interests. To do that there is much Israel can draw on from the bible to history, to San Remo Accords, to UNSCR 242 and relations with the Palestinians/Arabs both as to consistent Arab/Palestinian breaches of agreement which all have been inspired and motivated by their intractable Jew/Israel hatred.
Rather then just call for war and resting Israel’s case on the bible, I really think your advocacy would have a better chance of swaying opinion if you used the multi-based approach to advocate for Israel.
Similarly, I believe the Netanyahu government would be more successful if it also incorporated a multi-based approach to disseminating Israel’s narrative, history, rights, needs, wants and best interests while at the same time, not shrinking from unequivocally putting the blame on Arabs/Palestinians for the failure of peace to take hold and discrediting and undermining the Palestinian narrative.
If Israel could move world opinion or at least Western opinion by such actions, she then would be more confident she can declare past agreements with the Palestinians abrogated and demand back that which she gave to the Palestinians in good faith.
Narvey I don’t believe in rights except those acquired and held by power both physical and spiritual! Except for few academics and history buffs nobody know, remembers or cares about San Remo and certainly not anybody in authority in Israel. You can’t be more Catholic than the Pope.
Then taking your argument and expanding it why fight for San Remo that has a snowballs chance in hell of being recognized by anybody today and not fall back on our original founding document that most people can’t reject..ie the Bible.
Can you see real Christian believes rejecting the Bible or Muslims? They would do so at the risk of undermining their own beliefs. I admit the Jews are a problem as they don’t believe in their own Book but most non Jews would have a difficult time refuting that argument. Certainly easier and probably more fruitful than trying to restore status quo ante.
Yamit, you make my point. Laws and agreements do stand, but only until one party to the agreement no longer finds it serves their purpose and they have become strong enough breach it with relative impugnity.
I am as mindful as you of the hole Israel has helped dig for herself by having entered into the various agreements you cite, those you allude to and the various government positions stated by Netanyahu and Israel’s previous Prime Ministers and leaders over the past 60 years.
Two things however move me to the opinion I offered:
1. The saying that when you find you have dug yourself a hole, stop digging.
2. In spite of the steep slick walls of the hole Israel helped to put herself in, she must at least try to climb out and see just how far that gets her.
International law based on the San Remo Accord as the participants of the San Remo Conference contend is still in place and effect, reliance on UNSCR 242 which does not require Israel cease occupation of all occupied territories and further reliance on Jacques Gautier’s treatise regarding Jersualem, Judea and Samaria, would provide a hand and foot hold for Israel to at least try to climb out of the hole.
Neither you nor I Yamit are the give up types. I am therefore puzzled that you refuse to join me and others who urge Israel to at least try to climb out of that deep dark hole, regardless that the odds are stacked against her succeeding.
Short of Israel nuking Iran and her enemies as you continue to contend is the only way, I suggest you give consideration to what I am suggesting. After all, you live in the land of Israel where miracles have been known to happen.
Yamit you need to restore hope and faith in yourself and use that to move you to join your fellow Israelis and at least try to dig your way out of the hold Israel is in!
The Jews gave up their legal rights with OSLO agreements. Wye Plantation agreements, Roadmap agreements.
You can’t turn the clock back at this late date. Israel has said to the world that w have no rights and that those territories in dispute do not belog to us but in lieu of he fact that we have so many citizen already living there we want recognition of this ( facts on the ground) and we have security concerns but no rights.
And you ron thought Jews are smart?
Then we have Utopians like Narvey and Ted who believe in written laws and legal documents and agreements. In the history of the world no written agreement or formal agreement has stood the test of time all were at some point breached and rendered void, hen it served any of the the interested parties.
Awhile ago on Fox News two turkeys (gobble type) Hillary and Mitchell announced meeting between the Palestinian Authority and Israel to start negotiations, no preconditions. One condition before they meet, square one, the Arab world recognizes Israel as the sovereign Jewish State.
Otherwise don’t waste their time.
Yamit’s comment is fair, but is it absolutely correct without more?
A number of pundits including those at Israpundit have called for instance that Israel declare the Oslo Accords and the Camp David Agreements abrogated. If so, would that free Israel to claw back what she has given up, as much as she is able?
The Palestinians have negotiated from the stance that what Israel has in past given up is now indisputably theirs, ignoring the fact they have continuously failed to pay for same by fulfilling their promises. They take the position that Israel must begin each new round of negotiations based on what Israel last offered, in spite of the fact that the Palestinians rejected that offer.
That flies in the face of Western law. Where a party to an agreement subsequently breaches that agreement or the consideration given fails, the innocent party has a remedy in damages, including a possible remedy of resitutio in integrum, meaning to be put back to the same situation or condition it was before entering into and acting on the agreement.
This Palestinian style of negotiating also defies fundamental and common sense principles of negotiations. An offer made and rejected is no offer at all. The party whose offer was rejected, if they come to the negotiating table again, are not bound by their last offer and offer less if they choose to do so. They are also not bound to stick with the last demands made upon the other party and can up those demands.
The Palestinians having breached agreements in past, incidentally do bargain from the standpoint of upping their offers with each new round of negotiations.
So far the Western powers have tolerated Palestinian breaches and negotiating styles, and have forced Israel to tolerate same, while ignoring the fact that no Western power, let alone any other nation would ever allow that to happen for themselves.
The questions that are often asked, but seemingly never addressed and answered by Israel are:
1. why should she tolerate being singled out by the world and bow to pressure to tolerate and go along with Palestinian/Arab breaches of agreements and negotiating styles? and
2. how can Israel resist that pressure and start to act in its own best interests in that regard as any other nation in the world would act?
Pundits who keep raising those questions, must find a stronger voice so that it is heard by all Israelis and Israeli leadership.
The significance of the San Remo accord of 1920 on international law, should not be ignored or relegated to some historical oddity of no consequence as Yamit has done. Yamit’s doing so is in effect conceding that the San Remo accord is of no signifigance as an anti-Israel world has done, practically from the time the Accord was reached.
Included at the San Remo, Italy conference held several months ago to commemorate the San Remo Accord and to assert that accord remains viable and significant was Jacque Gauthier from Montreal, Canada.
Gauthier wrote a 1600 page legal treatise that made the case that Jerusalem is the indivisible capital of the Jews/Israelis and the Palestinians/Arabs have no lawful claim to any of it whatsoever.
For whatever reason, the significance of the San Remo Accord and Gauthier’s thesis has not been brought home to all Israelis and the Israeli government.
It would be worth knowing why not.
From there, while the challenge might at first appear insurmountable, pro-Israel pundits should be organizing and joining voices to impress upon Israelis and the Netanyahu government to switch gears as it were and do two things:
1. Incorporate the significance of the San Remo Accord in their narrative and position on assertion of Israeli rights and best interests as regards Judea, Samaria and their capital Jerusalem, while at the same time unequivocally removing the issue of the status of Jerusalem from the negotiating table.
2. Incorporate into their position the law on contract that is fairly uniform throughout the world as regards parties breaching agreements and remedies availble and as well declare to the world that Israel will no longer meekly go along with being the only nation in the world that is forced to tolerate and go along with the insane negotiating strategies of the Palestinians/Arabs.
If Netanyahu takes these stances, doubtless to enrage world opinion and has the support of most Israelis, Israel just might find that the challenge of making a difference for the better for Israel may not be as insurmountable as it may now be seen.
There are homespun wise sayings that are applicable here, such as the proof is in the pudding or you never really know unless you try.
Israel would do well to take heed of those homespun wise sayings, act accordingly and see what happens.
Will my original post comment show up????
Of course the above doesn’t make sense since it has nothing to do with the article. However the original comment never showed up and when I hit Post Comment I got the “you already said that” message.
Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. I think sister made us type this 20 times before typing class and at the end of class, it was basic high school typing 101 – in 1951, pounding the keys of the old already outdated Underwood typewriter was an exercise in itself.
Uncle, (Yamit) that is why it is so important for the Israeli government to take control and I mean physical control of all the territory of Israel. That also includes all of Jerusalem.
Harvard is a cesspool of liberal left wing anti-Semites. One of the most overrate schools in the country.
From the resume of Caroline Glick
From 1998-2000 I went back to the US where I received a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government in June 2000. Although I spent most of my free time hiking in New England, it did not escape my attention that the vast majority of the faculty at the Kennedy School were not particularly fond of America — or of Israel.
Fuck Harvard
Very nice Blah Blah!
Somebody better tell the UN that they are enforcing resolutions that are illegal and somebody better tell BB and other Israeli leaders because they have by their actions and agreements renounced any rights The Jewish people may have thought they were given at San Remo.
There is only one right of any consequence and that is he right by conquest in war and the power to keep that which was conquered.
These legalisms are a form of meaningless polemic masturbation. Total bull. Interesting but still bull.
EDITOR
Ted Belman
tbelman3- at- gmail.com
Co-Editor
Peloni
peloni1986@yahoo.com
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The Temple Mount Faithful used to go by that name only, but now prefer to be called the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful movement. Such faithful Jews and devout Israelis worked on my behalf to obtain citizenship, even though Gershon Salomon told me he felt it could harm my efforts since liberal Jews don’t appreciate those who love Israel.
Israeli citizenship for David Ben-Ariel
It was great seeing American-Israeli author and attorney, Howard Grief, on the video considering we’ve been involved in many Temple Mount Faithful demonstrations together and attended Meir Kahane’s yahrzeit (and the police were out in full force to photograph all who were gathered).
I sent a photo-copy of a page from The Jerusalem Post, Letters To The Editor section, Fri., Aug. 25, 1995 (Av 29, 5755) to American Jewish friends since it included a letter from me and one from a lawyer friend with this written at the top:
Shalom!
Howard Grief is a lawyer & one of my Israeli friends to write a letter of recomm. for me (for citizenship). I was one of Gershon’s “loyal followers” who was blessed to shield him from further harm.
David
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
POLICE BRUTALITY
Sir, – On Tisha Be’av, when we
mourn the destruction of both the
First and Second Temples, which
also symbolized the end of Jewish
statehood, I, like hundreds of others,
proceeded to the Mugrabi Gate, at
the Temple Mount, hoping to gain
entry, in accordance with the Su-
preme Court ruling rendered a few
days earlier. However, the sloped
narrow entrance was blocked by
dozens of police, who after a certain
while, upon signal, tried to break up
the assembly that had legally gath-
ered there.
To my horror and disbelief, I then
witnessed a series of acts that were
sheer and unmitigated police brutal-
ity that tarnishes and defames the
good name of the Jewish State.
In one instance, a policeman re-
peatedly beat and shoved an old
woman who refused to leave the
spot, where she had a perfect right to
be. When others in the crowd went
to her assistance, they too were at-
tacked. In another instance, a haredi-
dressed man was knocked to the
ground when he protested in a digni-
fied way the violent removal of an-
other person who was defending
himself against excessive police
force being used to eject him from
the site. Anyone who dared to open
their mouth to comment on what
was occurring before their very eyes
was immediately subject to police
assault.
Most shocking of all was the ill-
treatment accorded the leader of the
Temple Mount Faithful, Gershon
Salomon, whose persistence in se-
curing Jewish rights of prayer on the
Temple Mount finally won the en-
dorsement of the Supreme Court.
But this great accomplishment was
frustrated by what appeared to be
police “coordination” in advance
with Arab opponents of Jewish
rights of prayer on the Temple
Mount. Arabs were purposely incit-
ed to create the necessary “security
threat” which enabled the police to
close the Temple Mount to Jewish
prayer. Salomon, who was seriously
wounded in action in the Six Day
War on the Syrian front and as a
result suffers from a permanent
walking disability, had to endure the
gross indignity of being seized by
the police and dragged away by sev-
eral husky officers who then put him
down on the pavement where he
received a hard blow to his head that
caused him to lose consciousness.
By good fortune, he was saved from
being trampled upon by the milling
throng, by a few of his loyal follow-
ers, who helped to shield him from
further injuries. It is incredible that a
man of Salomon’s stature should
have been subject to this kind of
vicious treatment by the police!
One wonders how Jewish police
in the Jewish State can behave in
such a cruel and savage fashion to
fellow Jews, which has no precedent
in the history of the state.
HOWARD GRIEF
Jerusalem
DISCRIMINATION
Sir- What is going on here?
Jews are forcibly prevented from
praying, undemocratically denied
free access to the Temple Mount,
and cruelly evicted by other Jews!
What a spectacle for the whole
world to watch! All this in a “Jew-
ish State.”
If this had happened anywhere
else, the Jewish community would
be up in arms. We would have wit-
nessed an outpouring of righteous
indignation and heard deafening
cries of antisemitism. But the double
standard does not end there.
If it had been Christians or Mos-
lems who received such shabby
treatment from Israeli policemen,
the UN would have quickly con-
vened to condemn such a callous
display of religious discrimination
and demand an immediate end to the
flagrant violation of religious rights
Israel has sworn to uphold.
It is all too evident that the Tem-
ple Mount is not “in our hands.” It
remains under a defiant Moslem oc-
cupation that continues to mock Is-
raeli sovereignty. The Temple
Mount is not in our hands because it
is not in our hearts and minds. This
is a terrible indictment against our
political and religious “leaders.” I
doubt Jews prayed for 2,000 years to
return to Zion and pray at a wall.
DAVID BEN-ARIEL
Jerusalem
Bill, I must say I totally agree with that statement,I am impressed.
Don’t take it personally but, over 50 years in business and having to deal with attorneys I find I am in agreement with most of my business associates, they lack common sense. Unfortunately a majority of attorneys are overly impressed with themselves. That is why I am not too impressed with some judges. You can have a jerky attorney who is popular and elected to serve on the bench however, sitting on a high chair and wearing a black robe doesn’t change anything, a jerky attorney is now a jerky judge.
The nations are fickle. Israel’s right to survive and thrive is God-given and they’ve suffered for despising that fact and seeking salvation through politics and men.
A Jewish Homeland
Weren’t the Jews prophesied to return to Israel? Are the Jews ethnic Jews or merely converts? How should Israel treat their resident Arabs? Why does the world focus on Jerusalem?
Israel’s Only Way Out: Follow Kahane!
Israel must make concessions, Israel must do this, Israel must do that, while the Arabs continue to get away with mass murder and terrorism (while promising peace and feigning ignorance), aided and abetted by the international community…
EU to Conquer Anglo-Saxon-Celtics and Jews
Yamit, you are unnecessarily confining yourself to one argument based on the bible for Israel to advance to assert her rights and convince the West at least to accept that argument. It is akin to putting all your eggs into one basket.
I am speaking of several bases of argument to assert rights which could include, the bible, history, the San Remo Agreement, laws of contract, UNSCR 242 as well as capitalizing on past and recent history of the consequences not only to Israel but other Western nations of appeasing intractable Jew/Israel/Western hatred and haters.
I will expand a bit on making an argument based on the law of contract.
I expect, the world over that where individuals, organizations, institutions and governments enter into contracts and those contracts are breached by the other party or the other party’s consideration offered and given to support their end of the bargain, fails, that the innocent party has remedies for either damages, being restored to the position they had before entering the contract or both.
The various interim agreements between Israel and the Palestinians have all been breached by the Palestinians in one way or another.
Israel has been singled out by the world in the sense that Palestinian breaches of agreement are ignored and Israel is expected to live with that and not demand back that which she gave in good faith.
Israel should be incorporating into her narrative that Israel should and must have the same rights and remedies as the rest of the world. That argument holds some promise that it will strike a responsive chord, at least with fellow democratic nations, provided that position is taken directly and without equivocation.
Israel however, has not made that argument. Israel has not made any statement or taken any position to declare its past agreements with the Palestinians, null and void. Israel has not demanded back that which she gave to the Palestinians in good faith.
Israeli administrations have failed miserably to advocate Israeli rights, needs and best interests. Rather, Israel has continued to adopt a defensive posture to Palestinian/Arab demands and as regards the 2 state solution that Sharon signed onto.
Thus, Israel has tried to explain her position and concerns in relation mostly, if not exclusively to her security needs.
Israel needs to go on the offensive as regards all her rights, needs, wants and best interests. To do that there is much Israel can draw on from the bible to history, to San Remo Accords, to UNSCR 242 and relations with the Palestinians/Arabs both as to consistent Arab/Palestinian breaches of agreement which all have been inspired and motivated by their intractable Jew/Israel hatred.
Rather then just call for war and resting Israel’s case on the bible, I really think your advocacy would have a better chance of swaying opinion if you used the multi-based approach to advocate for Israel.
Similarly, I believe the Netanyahu government would be more successful if it also incorporated a multi-based approach to disseminating Israel’s narrative, history, rights, needs, wants and best interests while at the same time, not shrinking from unequivocally putting the blame on Arabs/Palestinians for the failure of peace to take hold and discrediting and undermining the Palestinian narrative.
If Israel could move world opinion or at least Western opinion by such actions, she then would be more confident she can declare past agreements with the Palestinians abrogated and demand back that which she gave to the Palestinians in good faith.
Narvey I don’t believe in rights except those acquired and held by power both physical and spiritual! Except for few academics and history buffs nobody know, remembers or cares about San Remo and certainly not anybody in authority in Israel. You can’t be more Catholic than the Pope.
Then taking your argument and expanding it why fight for San Remo that has a snowballs chance in hell of being recognized by anybody today and not fall back on our original founding document that most people can’t reject..ie the Bible.
Can you see real Christian believes rejecting the Bible or Muslims? They would do so at the risk of undermining their own beliefs. I admit the Jews are a problem as they don’t believe in their own Book but most non Jews would have a difficult time refuting that argument. Certainly easier and probably more fruitful than trying to restore status quo ante.
Yamit, you make my point. Laws and agreements do stand, but only until one party to the agreement no longer finds it serves their purpose and they have become strong enough breach it with relative impugnity.
I am as mindful as you of the hole Israel has helped dig for herself by having entered into the various agreements you cite, those you allude to and the various government positions stated by Netanyahu and Israel’s previous Prime Ministers and leaders over the past 60 years.
Two things however move me to the opinion I offered:
1. The saying that when you find you have dug yourself a hole, stop digging.
2. In spite of the steep slick walls of the hole Israel helped to put herself in, she must at least try to climb out and see just how far that gets her.
International law based on the San Remo Accord as the participants of the San Remo Conference contend is still in place and effect, reliance on UNSCR 242 which does not require Israel cease occupation of all occupied territories and further reliance on Jacques Gautier’s treatise regarding Jersualem, Judea and Samaria, would provide a hand and foot hold for Israel to at least try to climb out of the hole.
Neither you nor I Yamit are the give up types. I am therefore puzzled that you refuse to join me and others who urge Israel to at least try to climb out of that deep dark hole, regardless that the odds are stacked against her succeeding.
Short of Israel nuking Iran and her enemies as you continue to contend is the only way, I suggest you give consideration to what I am suggesting. After all, you live in the land of Israel where miracles have been known to happen.
Yamit you need to restore hope and faith in yourself and use that to move you to join your fellow Israelis and at least try to dig your way out of the hold Israel is in!
The Jews gave up their legal rights with OSLO agreements. Wye Plantation agreements, Roadmap agreements.
You can’t turn the clock back at this late date. Israel has said to the world that w have no rights and that those territories in dispute do not belog to us but in lieu of he fact that we have so many citizen already living there we want recognition of this ( facts on the ground) and we have security concerns but no rights.
And you ron thought Jews are smart?
Then we have Utopians like Narvey and Ted who believe in written laws and legal documents and agreements. In the history of the world no written agreement or formal agreement has stood the test of time all were at some point breached and rendered void, hen it served any of the the interested parties.
Awhile ago on Fox News two turkeys (gobble type) Hillary and Mitchell announced meeting between the Palestinian Authority and Israel to start negotiations, no preconditions. One condition before they meet, square one, the Arab world recognizes Israel as the sovereign Jewish State.
Otherwise don’t waste their time.
Yamit’s comment is fair, but is it absolutely correct without more?
A number of pundits including those at Israpundit have called for instance that Israel declare the Oslo Accords and the Camp David Agreements abrogated. If so, would that free Israel to claw back what she has given up, as much as she is able?
The Palestinians have negotiated from the stance that what Israel has in past given up is now indisputably theirs, ignoring the fact they have continuously failed to pay for same by fulfilling their promises. They take the position that Israel must begin each new round of negotiations based on what Israel last offered, in spite of the fact that the Palestinians rejected that offer.
That flies in the face of Western law. Where a party to an agreement subsequently breaches that agreement or the consideration given fails, the innocent party has a remedy in damages, including a possible remedy of resitutio in integrum, meaning to be put back to the same situation or condition it was before entering into and acting on the agreement.
This Palestinian style of negotiating also defies fundamental and common sense principles of negotiations. An offer made and rejected is no offer at all. The party whose offer was rejected, if they come to the negotiating table again, are not bound by their last offer and offer less if they choose to do so. They are also not bound to stick with the last demands made upon the other party and can up those demands.
The Palestinians having breached agreements in past, incidentally do bargain from the standpoint of upping their offers with each new round of negotiations.
So far the Western powers have tolerated Palestinian breaches and negotiating styles, and have forced Israel to tolerate same, while ignoring the fact that no Western power, let alone any other nation would ever allow that to happen for themselves.
The questions that are often asked, but seemingly never addressed and answered by Israel are:
1. why should she tolerate being singled out by the world and bow to pressure to tolerate and go along with Palestinian/Arab breaches of agreements and negotiating styles? and
2. how can Israel resist that pressure and start to act in its own best interests in that regard as any other nation in the world would act?
Pundits who keep raising those questions, must find a stronger voice so that it is heard by all Israelis and Israeli leadership.
The significance of the San Remo accord of 1920 on international law, should not be ignored or relegated to some historical oddity of no consequence as Yamit has done. Yamit’s doing so is in effect conceding that the San Remo accord is of no signifigance as an anti-Israel world has done, practically from the time the Accord was reached.
Included at the San Remo, Italy conference held several months ago to commemorate the San Remo Accord and to assert that accord remains viable and significant was Jacque Gauthier from Montreal, Canada.
Gauthier wrote a 1600 page legal treatise that made the case that Jerusalem is the indivisible capital of the Jews/Israelis and the Palestinians/Arabs have no lawful claim to any of it whatsoever.
For whatever reason, the significance of the San Remo Accord and Gauthier’s thesis has not been brought home to all Israelis and the Israeli government.
It would be worth knowing why not.
From there, while the challenge might at first appear insurmountable, pro-Israel pundits should be organizing and joining voices to impress upon Israelis and the Netanyahu government to switch gears as it were and do two things:
1. Incorporate the significance of the San Remo Accord in their narrative and position on assertion of Israeli rights and best interests as regards Judea, Samaria and their capital Jerusalem, while at the same time unequivocally removing the issue of the status of Jerusalem from the negotiating table.
2. Incorporate into their position the law on contract that is fairly uniform throughout the world as regards parties breaching agreements and remedies availble and as well declare to the world that Israel will no longer meekly go along with being the only nation in the world that is forced to tolerate and go along with the insane negotiating strategies of the Palestinians/Arabs.
If Netanyahu takes these stances, doubtless to enrage world opinion and has the support of most Israelis, Israel just might find that the challenge of making a difference for the better for Israel may not be as insurmountable as it may now be seen.
There are homespun wise sayings that are applicable here, such as the proof is in the pudding or you never really know unless you try.
Israel would do well to take heed of those homespun wise sayings, act accordingly and see what happens.
Will my original post comment show up????
Of course the above doesn’t make sense since it has nothing to do with the article. However the original comment never showed up and when I hit Post Comment I got the “you already said that” message.
Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country. I think sister made us type this 20 times before typing class and at the end of class, it was basic high school typing 101 – in 1951, pounding the keys of the old already outdated Underwood typewriter was an exercise in itself.
Uncle, (Yamit) that is why it is so important for the Israeli government to take control and I mean physical control of all the territory of Israel. That also includes all of Jerusalem.
This is some real bullshit, my son brought this to my attention from Druge Report.
Harvard is a cesspool of liberal left wing anti-Semites. One of the most overrate schools in the country.
From the resume of Caroline Glick
Fuck Harvard
Very nice Blah Blah!
Somebody better tell the UN that they are enforcing resolutions that are illegal and somebody better tell BB and other Israeli leaders because they have by their actions and agreements renounced any rights The Jewish people may have thought they were given at San Remo.
There is only one right of any consequence and that is he right by conquest in war and the power to keep that which was conquered.
These legalisms are a form of meaningless polemic masturbation. Total bull. Interesting but still bull.