This speech was delivered before the Goldberg article. It shows that Bibi knew the US hard line position and was girding for battle. It is a battle that must be fought. We cannot succumb to their pressure. We must declare our independence. Ted Belman
Netanyahu challenged the US by saying that Israel would continue to build in all parts of Jerusalem.
PM Netanyahu took on all comers in his opening speech to the Knesset’s winter session on Monday.
He challenged the Palestinians and their newest tactic to get the world to impose a solution on Israel, saying that Israel will not accept conditions that endanger its future and security.
“What the Palestinians are asking of us is the establishment of a Palestinian state, without peace and without security. They are demanding a withdrawal to the ‘67 lines, entry of refugees, and the dividing of Jerusalem. And after all those exaggerated demands, they are not willing to agree to the basic condition for peace between two peoples: mutual recognition,” he said.
He took on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for saying at the UN that Israel is committing genocide, and for encouraging the Palestinians a week ago to keep Jews from “desecrating” the Temple Mount.
He took on – without mentioning names – Europeans supporting Palestinian demands for Israel to draw a “map” and pressing Israel to delineate borders of a future Palestinian state without knowing what kind of state it will be – perhaps another Gaza, or Iran, or a state for Islamic State, or an imploding country like Syria, Iraq, Libya, or Yemen.
“There are those who tell me: Give up the territory to begin with, draw a map, and then we will set the security arrangements and those other arrangements – things will work out. And I ask them, things will work out? Like they worked out after we left Gaza? Like they worked out after we left Lebanon?” Taking a dig at the British parliament for recently approving a non-binding resolution to recognize a Palestinian state, Netanyahu said he knows the issue of what kind of state would emerge on the other side of the border does not bother certain parliaments around the world, but that it does trouble him.
The prime minister further took on the Europeans, who often say they are “committed to Israel’s security,” by saying that those words have no real meaning on the ground and are just “nice on paper.”
He took on Israel’s Left by saying that it is impossible to build peace on the basis of lies and illusions.
He challenged the Americans by saying that Israel would continue to build in all parts of Jerusalem, just as the French build in Paris and the British build in London. And he took on the whole international community by saying that he sees no pressure on the Palestinians, only on Israel.
“No pressure from abroad or internally will help,” he said. “I will not give up our basic demands for life, peace and – foremost – security.”
In short, Netanyahu challenged everyone, and he did this at an interesting time, amid much chatter about elections.
Whether or not elections are right around the corner is of less consequence. What is important is that the subject is “in the air” and that was the atmosphere behind Netanyahu’s speech. Leaders lead, but they also reflect what they believe the public wants to hear.
If Netanyahu, with elections in the air, thought that the public was pushing for more flexibility toward the Palestinians, the tone of the speech would likely have been more conciliatory. But he stressed standing tough in the international community, not buckling to pressure, not establishing a Palestinian state if security conditions were not met, and continuing to build in Jerusalem.
As much as that does reflect Netanyahu’s ideology, it also reflects what he thinks would be the winning ticket if/when there are early elections.
Netanyahu, as his longevity in office attests, is an astute politician, and it is doubtful he would take on the world without feeling that at least his own people, or the bulk of them, were behind him. Likewise, it is doubtful, with elections in the background, that he would have given this type of speech if he didn’t think it was what a large part of his own public wanted to hear.
yamit82 Said:
a beacon leading to where, obviously not to YS nor the Mount
yamit82 Said:
I could accept this argument if a Jewish PM shouted that Jews will settle all of Israel and kick the muslims off the mount. it is not the diapora corrupting it is the Jews of Israel who have decided that Tel Aviv is enough, why make waves with the phillistines. first lets see Jews in Israel who want the Mount, especially so called religious Jews who pretend to be the spiritual leadership of the Jewish people.
It is here that I see that most Jews in israel do not care about keeping YS, so what possible corruption are you talking about, the PM knows the history but cannot bring himself to say the words thatt the land belongs to the jews and that the Jews must settle all of Israel. At the time of the mandate that was written in legally binding international treaties and now Jews leading Israel cannot utter the words written then.
@ yamit82:
I find it odd that you are discussing American Jews when it is almost impossible to know what israeli Jews want. It is in Israel where the problem and confusion begins, i am astonished as to how clueless many Israelis appear to be on history and legality regarding Israel. All the time they go to fight wars but it never goes beyond the fact that they are being threatened. It is the rare israeli saying and writing that the land belongs to the Jews. My suggestion is that the effort should be made to educate Israelis as to their history and the legality and morality of the situation. when Israelis, even though leftists, are so adamantly on the side of the murderous pals it is hard to argue otherwise. after all that the jews went through it is hard to know that Jews in Israel are on the side of those who teach their kids to slaughter Jews.
yamit82 Said:
you and I keep going through this circle. I see the problem first as Israeli Jews. Israeli Jews cannot elect a leader wh can represent Jewish rights. whether on the left or the Haaredim there is disagreement. The foreign jews get most of their news through the MSM who use haaretz as the benchmark of choice for representing Israeli Jewish perspectives. How can anyone expect diaspora Jews to be more demanding of YAS or jewish settlement rights than Israeli Jews. Jews are more likely to defer to the wishes of Jews in Israel regarding Israel and the Jews in Israel do NOT express a desire to settle YS with Jews, and that is why their majority elected officials do the same!!!!!!!!!
the fault lies first with the Jews of Israel change their views and diaspora Jews will start to get a different perspective on what they think Israeli want. How can diaspora Jews push down Israeli mouths, settlement in YS when it is Israeli Jews who suffer first the consequences. ISRAELI JEWS DO NOT WANT YS!!!!!!
Perhaps you cannot see what it looks like from here anymore but I never thought Israeli Jews could defame Israel, both left and Haredi, why expect the diaspora to be more catholic than the pope.
@ bernard ross:
I think we know different Jews none that I know give a damn in any real or practical way and most of their concerns are that israel do nothing to make their lives as American Jews complicated before their liberal gentile neighbors, They are more frightened of being accused of dual loyalties than with anything happening here.
I used to think American Jews were secure but have come to the realization that there is a deep seed unease even fear.
This my be subliminal but it’s there all the same.
There a general survey taken of Jewish American attitudes before the last presidential elections and of the top ten Jewish concerns Israel came in a consistent 10 or less 1 being the major concern. You think demonstrating our legal rights is going to move them? maybe a few but the majority forget it.
bernard ross Said:
No American Jews will follow the lead of their christian and gentile neighbors. Jews want acceptance and to be included. If their gentile neighbors were pro Israel so would the Jews.
btw The Jews in America and I am speaking in the most general terms are finished in two more generations they will cease to exist as a recognizable community and that includes the orthodox. Read no better study the latest Pew survey.
Israel today holds the majority of Jews and if you discount two of our poorest sectors Arabs and Haredim who chose poverty our standard of living and mean income equal America and we have a growing mega wealthy class as well. We are more Jewish have a greater sense of being Jewish and there is also a strong and growing Jewish spiritual awakening here as well…. In a few years when our oil and gas deposits begin to flow and come on line Israel will become per capita the wealthiest country in the world.
Why should Israel today bend and further corrupt our ideals and ethics to please a corrupted and lost Jewish community who is largely antagonistic and sides when things become difficult with our enemies solely to please their gentile neighbors?
We are the beacon and they can either follow that beacon or sink in rough seas.
yamit82 Said:
every day i see how this “real world” in Israel is obstructed only by one thing: defamation, delegitmization,diplomatic and economic sanctions. If these did not matter then Israel would not be perenially immersed in it and obstructed by it. It is causing the heads of Jews to spin in confusion and therefore those Jews need to hear the reasons from the perspective of legality, morality and diplomacy why Jewish settlement is legal, legitimate and moral and why the arabs MUST go. Everything Israel has won has been given back because of those issues which keep being ignored. first convince the confused jews and then the rest will follow.
The power of Israel is NOT being exerted due to these ethereal issues, therefore in THIS real world of Israel power is apparently not the only issue, if it were then Israel would be using it. The problem is that Jews are confused, they have power but wont use it because of their faulty beliefs and ignorance.
bernard ross Said:
I never hear arabs commiserating about Jewish rights whereas the Jews like shtetl slaves talk about humanitarianism and the faux pals rights thus sapping energy from focusing on the desires, wishes and rights of Jews. The arabs can obviously see that the fool Jews heads are all tied up in thinking about them, I dont give one damn about them. Look at all the energy sherman puts into caring about humanitarianism towards those who teach their children to slaughter his children. That is not the reason to care about them, that is the reason to rise up and kill them first. Fool Jews thinking about how his nazi murderer feels, DUH?
yamit82 Said:
no, only in the “legal “discussions with the “other”
yamit82 Said:
of course, one may say even that rights are non existen, only power. but if one is having any discussions with the other then the least is to demand they honor agreements with the Jews and slop libeling the Jews. Why have diplomacy if you cant say this? what is the purpose of liberman?
“Peace” and “security” are words which describe non existent fantasies. HOwever, I keep hearing BB chant Peace and moreso security but I would like to hear Jewish settlement in YS. I have said from the beginning that the goal should be jewish settlement and then all else will follow, the settled Jews will end up driving out the pond scum. I dont care which comes first but dont hold up Jewish settlement while waiting for faux phillistines to leave.
yamit82 Said:
they must go!
I agree 100% with Bernard Ross except for one small matter.
He bases Jewish rights to the land on the 1922 agreements. Well they might have an ear and standing in some academic debates and treatises but in the real world it carries no standing or recognition. The barn door has been left open and all the horses have run for the hills never to return to that old dusty barn.
There are no rights of anyone except those asserted by force and defended successfully by force.
Do Tibetans have rights? Basques? Uighurs? Brettons? American and all North and South American Indians???
Nobody has rights and without power they will never gain what they consider as their own legitimate rights.
Jews have claims Arabs have claims and no compromise can bridge those competing claims and why should they?
Ask every leader involved in so called Arab Israeli peace making domestic and foreign and ask each to define what they mean by peace. You will not receive any 2 replies that suggest or mean the same thing. peace has therefore no real meaning and cannot be used as context for any solutions.
Ask any Israeli Leader civilian or military and ask them to describe what they consider security for the State of Israel and you will get no clear answer because there is no real concept of security not real security within our small and narrow borders surrounded by 300 million Arabs and some 1.5 million within our borders making up to almost a third of our population.
The solution is clear except few have the guts to say it out loud.
No mention made of the rights of Jews to live in any part of Israel which is the internationally legal raison d’etre for the nation of Israel. why is this unimportant to BB? the silence on this issue has fueled the canard of Jewish illegitimacy and even the state of Israel’s legitimacy.
And yet BB never mentions the right of Jews to settle in all of Israel as per international declarations and agreements with the Jewish people. It appears that “standing up for truth” is relative. He apparently does not consider this right to be important whereas this was the original prime directive of the LON mandate which legally re-established the Jewish homeland in Israel.
Gosh, BB, when did Jews lose the right to live in ALL of israel? Trading the right of Jews to live in YS for the rights of Jews to live in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv has backfired just like the euro appeasement of the nazis. Now the world is reconsidering the legitimacy of Jews in any part of Israel. Appeasement does not work.
but conceding the right of jews to live in Israel appears to be OK.
Perhaps the rights of Jews to live in ALL of Israel should be more important than peace, perhaps without this there will be no peace.
Being pragmatic makes sense but I would not wax poetic about utopia with those who cannot even admit talking to Jews.
Oops, wrong speech; sorry ’bout that.
Here’s the right link.
Did you get to actually see it (or hear it), Ted?
Here is the text verbatim.
what about building in the rest of Israel, is he saying that the jews are legitimate in jerusalem but not in the rest of Israel. The anti semitic libels must be repudiated, this is the minimal effort of an Israeli PM.
It is time to go on the attack against the libelers especially the govs of europe who are Israels worst existential enemy. they signed treaties acknowledging to encourage jewish settlement in all of palestine mandate territory, when did it become illegal and why do they not have to honor agreements with the Jewish people?