THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN in I Believe I Can Fly gives his take on Bibi’s shenanigans. Some might call his tactics rope-a-dope,
-
Where to begin? Well, first there’s Israel’s prime minister, Bibi Netanyahu, who has been telling everyone how committed he is to peace with the Palestinians while refusing to halt settlement building as a prerequisite for negotiations. At a time when Israel already has 300,000 settlers in the West Bank, Bibi says he can’t possibly take another pause in building to test whether the Palestinian government of President Mahmoud Abbas — a man Israelis say is the best Palestinian security partner Israel has ever had — can forge a safe two-state deal for Israel.
The U.S. is now basically trying to bribe Bibi to reverse his position. Maybe he will, but it’s unseemly to watch and doesn’t bode well. Rather than take the initiative and say to Arabs and Palestinians, “You want a settlement freeze? Here it is, now let’s see what you’re ready to agree to,” Netanyahu toys with President Obama, makes Israel look like it wants land more than peace and risks never forging a West Bank deal — thereby permanently absorbing its 2.5 million Palestinians and eventually no longer having a Jewish majority. That’s the sudden stop at the end — unless the next war comes first. But, for now, Bibi seems to think he can fly.
Bibi already said “you want a settlement freeze, here it is” and he did it for 9 months. Freidman is wrong about there being 2.5 million Arabs in Judea and Samaria. More like 1.6 million. Israel will always retain a majority. So no splat here.
It is time for Freidman to challenge the Palestinians to accept a deal which allows Israelis to remain in their homes just as Arab Israelis remain in there homes. He should suggest that they accept 80% of the land for their state and agree to its demilitarization in their own interests as well as Israel’s.
Here’s another buck on behalf of the truth – 78% of American Jews, all liberals, voted for Obama in spite of knowing his close working and personal relationships with some of the most virulent anti-Semites and anti-Americans in America. Most, if not all of these, would have never hired him to run a convenience store.
Only by American liberals because he supports their high tax policies and climate change hoaxes which are destroying the US economy and putting pressure on Israel to compromise with the Palestinians without any demand for concessions from them. No one else regards Tom Friedman highly. AmEagle stands on facts and logic and is not impressed by someone’s name or reputation among liberals.
AmEagle:
Problem: Who knows AmEagle? Whether you or I agree is irrelevant. Tom Friedman is a recognized, highly regarded columnist and author. That is just a fact of life.
I wish I had a buck for every time you have included that stat in your comments. Seems like you have a thing about only liberal Jews. I’d call it compulsive/obsessive. Only one logical conclusion. I’m calling Abe right now.
Why does anyone care what Tom Friedman writes? He is one of those liberal American Jews who gave the world Barack Hussein Obama, he thinks tax rate increases increase taxes, and doesn’t seem to grasp that the Palestinians have no intentions of living alongside Israel