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WARNING : This site is not for you if you cannot see the otherness of other and sufferings of both sides of the party in the conflict. Security for Israel and Justice for the Palestinians are interdependent, one will not happen without the other. My view focuses on building cohesive societies where no one has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. I hope and pray a sense of justice to prevail. Amen. Website www.IsraelPalestineDialogue.com | Also Check Israel Palestine Confederation a pragmatic solution

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Nature of Zionism by Paul Goldstein

Paul Goldstein is my facebook friend since 2009, and occasionally we exchange information about the Israel Palestine Conflict. As a Moderate myself in all aspects of life, I find him to be a breath of fresh air, a  moderate Jew- meaning doing what is right for all people and not just for me, me and me. Indeed, moderates are a majority in all endeavors of life, being moderates you don't see them actively engage in society, they mind their own business. However, time has come for all of us moderates to speak up - if not the notion manufactured by the right or left will get stuck on our faces.

This is a good piece by Paul about the Nature of Zionism, and it was good to see so many appreciated his take at the Progressive Zionism. One thing I like to observe here  - whether you are a Muslim, Jew, Hindu, Christian or the other, if you are a moderate you sound alike, so is the case with right wingers.

Mike Ghouse

www.IsraelPalestineDialogue.com
# # #


 
By Paul Goldstein
A progressive pro-Israel forum recently asked its members to explain what led them to adopt  a Zionist perspective.  This was my response:
 

I've always been Zionist, as a strong respect and support for Israel has always been a central part of my traditional Jewish background. (I grew up in Conservative Judaism, but with Orthodox relatives.)
 
But the nature of my Zionism has evolved over the years.

In the early 1970's, as I was coming into my adult years, I was influenced by a first cousin of mine (a year older) who had begun to write letters and articles in defense of Israel to newspapers and magazines. We often discussed Israel and Zionism when we met, usually several times a month; I familiarized myself with intricacies of Israeli and Zionist issues through various readings, and also joined an active Zionist organization at Clark University (Worcester, Mass.) where I was a student.

Beginning in the mid-1970's (when I was in my early 20's), I followed my cousin's example by writing letters, articles, and columns in Israel's defense to newspapers and magazines, responding to anti-Israel editorials, letters, and columns.
 
At first my positions were hardline and uncompromising (under the sway of my cousin's writings). When I look back today at what I wrote in those early years I cringe. For example, in 1978, a lengthy article of mine was published in a Massachusetts newspaper, strongly opposing any creation of a Palestinian Arab state.
 
But in practically all other spheres I was very liberal and progressive. In the first year that I could vote, 1972, I worked in behalf of George McGovern's campaign (and remain proud that in some very small way I helped him to win Masasachusetts, the only state he carried). I participated in antiwar protests and demonstrations, and was once nearly arrested in a sit-in protest.

Throughout the 1970's and into the early 1980's, I maintained a conservatism on issues involving Israel and a progressive outlook on nearly all other issues.|

In 1979 I visited Israel for the first time; I stayed with my cousin who had influenced me in my early writings on Israel - he had recently made aliyah. But I met another Israeli cousin of mine on the opposite side of the political fence, who told me that it was dangerous to consider the Israeli-Arab conflict as simply "us vs. them". It was hard for me then to understand the conflict in any other way.
 
In 1982 a sizable article of mine was published in a Massachusetts newspaper in defense of Israel's then-war against the PLO in Lebanon. (This was before the Sabra and Chatilla massacres.)

But I felt a weakness in what I was writing - something just didn't hang together for me. I wrote that while I deplored the extensive Lebanese civilian casualties, these were entirely the moral responsibility of the PLO for using civilians as shields, and that Israel was therefore in no way at fault in these actions. (Today I would call this a shared responsibility.) Internally I didn't really accept what I was then writing, but saw no way around it to give Israel a full defense. It was the first time I felt a little crack in the wall of my then-conservative positions regarding Israel.

I received much high praise for this article, from individuals as well as federations, and also received a letter of praise from a young Congressional aide in Washington named Jim McGovern (who 15 years later would become the Congressman from my Central Massachusetts district).
Everyone seemed to love my article - except myself.
 
As time went by, I increasingly questioned (within myself) why there had to be a dichotomy between my right-leaning Israel positions and strong left positions on virtually everything else. I rethought issues, and began to be influenced by Michael Lerner and other progressive Zionist writers in the early years of "Tikkun" magazine. I gradually evolved a peace-oriented perspective of Zionism, to bring my Israel thinking into line with my positions on other issues.

My first article that included a long-range peace perspective and mentioned Palestinian Arab aspirations was published in 1988, a few months after the First Intifada had broken out.

The newspaper printing it considered my writing (correctly) to be strongly pro-Israel, and put on the same page - for "balance" - a nasty anti-Israel article of another writer.

I knew my conservative-oriented cousin in Israel wouldn't like my new peace perspective, so I didn't send the article to him. But another family member did. When I next saw my cousin a few years later, he predictably told me that he was very disappointed in me, that I had come under the influence of Arab propaganda.

But I felt I had arrived in my evolved thinking, of imbuing my Zionism with a progressive peace-oriented perspective, as one component of a universalistic vision for humanity. This concept that I call Peace Zionism has been close to my heart ever since.
 

 

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

The Harsh Truth Behind The Fall Of The Netanyahu Government - Alon Ben-Meir

Alon Ben-Meir has called PM Netanyahu an egomaniacal, I hope the rightwing Jews and Israelis realize that Netanyahu stands in the way of long term security for Israel, unless that is not the objective. Netanyahu is the cause for the isolation of Israel,  96% of the world does not agree with his policies, Muslims are only a part of it so they feel rejected and that breeds resentment towards Israel instead of Netanyahu. There is a direct correlation in rise in anti-Semitism and Netanyahu's policies. I hope the Israeli public wakes up and reject those policies that are a detriment to Israel's long term security. I need to write that piece before the end of the year.

Mike Ghouse
# # #

The Harsh Truth Behind The Fall Of The Netanyahu Government

alon@alonben-meir.com
Alon Ben-Meir
Dec 8, 2014

The collapse of the Netanyahu government was not a surprise—what is surprising is why it took two years for its languishing demise. The government was bound to fall because the coalition was made up of several disparate parties who do not see eye-to-eye on just about every major issue confronting Israel. It was a marriage of convenience of five political parties led by leaders with an insatiable hunger for power, different political agendas, and personal ambition, which is the only thing they all have in common. This was manifested in the little this government achieved on the political, social, and economic fronts, and in particular, the zero progress, if not the reversal, in the peace process with the Palestinians.

To understand why this government was doomed from the start, one has to look at the personality of the leading figures, who came together only by agreeing on the lowest denominator to run the country at a time when Israel was in desperate need of strong and visionary leadership. 

Prime Minster Netanyahu is an egomaniacal politician, a zealous ideologue who is committed to Greater Israel, and a hypocrite who uses Israel’s national security as a cover for continuing the occupation and harsh policies toward the Palestinians. 

He is a blind nationalist who stops short of nothing to realize his political agenda—to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state based on a two-state solution—and willingly bends any rule to enshrine the exclusive right of the ‘Jews to their homeland.’

Finance Minister Yair Lapid, a convert from journalism to politics and a centrist who focused on social and economic development, has no particular conviction about a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and was complacent on the settlements. 

He was given the critical portfolio of the Finance Ministry, which was far beyond his abilities to lead, and quickly revealed his lack of experience. He was constantly at odds with Netanyahu on fiscal policy and vehemently opposed Netanyahu’s proposed bill that would define Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people, which finally led to the collapse of the government. 

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the leader of Yisrael Beiteinu, is closest ideologically to Netanyahu on the Palestinian conflict, and although he sided with Netanyahu to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, he disagreed with him on the prosecution of the war in Gaza as he wanted to go all the way.

He was ill-suited to be in charge of Israel’s foreign policy, and after a short hiatus to clear his name of corruption charges, he resumed his position but began to distance himself from Netanyahu. He made little secret of his ambition to become the next prime minister, much to the chagrin of Netanyahu. 

Once she lost the chairmanship of her Kadima party, Tzipi Livni resigned and formed a new party—Hatenua. She was assigned to head the Justice Ministry; she fundamentally disagreed with Netanyahu on the question of the Palestinian conflict and was a vocal opponent of the settlements. 

Nevertheless, she was eager to join his government if only to become, as she prides herself, the chief negotiator with the Palestinians. Little did she know that Netanyahu was not about to give her free reign in the negotiations; he charged his trusted advisor Yitzhak Molcho to act as a watchdog to prevent any progress in the negotiations.

Naftali Bennett, the Economy Minister, is a rightist to the core. He entered in an awkward alliance with Lapid to join the government but quickly distanced himself from it. He largely agreed with Lieberman but considered Netanyahu too timid on the problem with the Palestinians.

Bennett pushed hard to annex Area C (representing 60 percent of the West Bank) and is a strong proponent of the settlements, but has no clue where Israel will be in 10 or 15 years, as if his fixation on the settlements will cure all of Israel’s ills.

The dysfunctional nature of the Netanyahu government was evident from the start; every leading member knew that, including Netanyahu. For him to serve for a fourth time as prime minister, however, was central to prepare the political ground to form a new government that will follow his dictates. 

Nevertheless, the four leading ministers joined the government to solidify their political positions while hoping against hope that they could influence policy from within rather than sit idle in the opposition. 

Netanyahu’s superficial efforts to keep the government together were obvious as he demanded an end to criticism of his policies by any of its members, funding for affordable housing and defense, resuming the peace process only on his own terms, and backing of his most controversial bill to define Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

Netanyahu decided to dissolve the government and the parliament with the confidence that there is no other leader that can fill his shoes and that the electorate will turn back to him to save Israel from this wild bunch of would-be political leaders who seek to replace him.

In the final analysis, however, only the people of Israel can send Netanyahu to a permanent retirement. One can only hope that Netanyahu and his bandits, who have systematically been dragging Israel toward a black hole, will be soundly defeated.

Netanyahu’s reign has run its course. The new election offers Israelis a historic opportunity to elect new visionary and courageous leaders who will first and foremost commit themselves to seek peace with the Palestinians and preserve Israel’s democratic principles. 

That is where Israel’s national security and future prosperity rest.

This article originally appeared on the Daily Beast as "Goodbye to Israel's Lousy Government"

Sunday, December 7, 2014

Likely presidential candidate says despite reports of stormy Netanyahu-Obama relations, bilateral cooperation has been ‘extraordinary’

I am glad she stood up for Obama, and of course anything contrary would reflect on her own record. I am for supporting Israel but not Netanyahu's expansionist policies to the detriment of Israel's long term security. He is isolating Israel in the community of nations, leading to a rise in unprecedented anti-Semitism. We are bullying 161 out of 166 nations, that is 96% of the world in voting at United Nations.

Mike Ghouse

Likely presidential candidate says despite reports of stormy Netanyahu-Obama relations, bilateral cooperation has been ‘extraordinary’

December 6, 2014, 1:10 pm

Hillary Clinton speaks at the Saban Forum in Washington on December 5, 2014. (Photo credit: YouTube screenshot)

Hillary Clinton speaks at the Saban Forum in Washington on December 5, 2014. (Photo credit: YouTube screenshot)

Former US secretary of state and likely 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Friday that the US must intensify and deepen cooperation with its Middle East partners, particularly Israel.
Dismissing the negative press coverage surrounding tensions between the Netanyahu government and the Obama administration, Clinton said that cooperation between Israel and the US over the past six years has been “quite extraordinary.”
“The funding on Iron dome, the funding of other military needs and equipment, the continuing strategic consultation that we’ve been consistently engaged in, no one can argue with the commitment of this administration to Israel’s security,” Clinton declared at the annual Saban Forum in Washington Friday evening.

The Netanyahu-led Israeli government and the Obama administration have often gone head to head, sometimes publicly, over a variety of issues, including disagreements over the ongoing talks with Iran on its nuclear program, continued Israeli settlement activity and perceived Israeli intransigence on peace talks.

Some of the differences have deteriorated into exchanges of name-calling between officials, reports of snubbing and other uncommon behavior between allies.

This includes Israeli government accusations over the summer that US Secretary of State John Kerry was engaging in a ”terrorist” attack on Israel by backing a ceasefire agreement with Hamas that had been shaped by its Qatari backers; Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon calling Kerry “obsessive” and “messianic” on the peace process; and an anonymous Obama administration official telling US journalist Jeffrey Goldberg that Netanyahu’s behavior on the peace process and on Iran was “chickenshit.”

“Regardless of the political back and forth between two raucous democracies,” Clinton said, US-Israel relations must cooperate more closely.

Her remarks came following the announcement Thursday that Congress passed legislation aimed at deepening ties between the two countries in the fields of defense, energy, R&D, business and academics.

Turning to the peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians which collapsed in April after a US-brokered nine-month effort, Clinton said the US and Mideast countries could not just throw up their hands and walk away from efforts to bring the two sides to negotiate an agreement “because you leave a vacuum.”

“There is a necessary imperative to continue to try to achieve a resolution between Israel and the Palestinians,” said Clinton, adding that the Clinton parameters presented by her husband, former president Bill Clinton, were still relevant.

Warning again that the “absence of negotiations leave a vacuum” for extremists and others, she said that “the two-state solution remains an important and essential concept.”

“Efforts that were undertaken in the last several years are very much in the interest of Israel and very much in the interest of the Palestinians,” she said.

Regarding the ongoing negotiations with Iran on its contentious nuclear program, Clinton expressed approval for the international sanctions that were imposed on Tehran for its failure to cooperate.
Talks between Iran and the P5+1 have been extended until next July.

“The international sanctions have had the effect that we’d hoped for on Iran. The extension of the talks will most likely be a period during which the sanctions will hold [until an agreement is reached],” she said.

While she said her view remained one that advocated for no deal rather than a bad deal, “a deal that verifiably closes all of Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon — the key there is ‘verifiably’ and ‘all’ including covert efforts — that is what is at the center of these negotiations.”

She added that while the nuclear talks were the most important issue the US was facing vis-a-vis Iran, Washington was also concerned about Tehran’s sponsorship of international terrorism and its backing of Syria’s Bashar Assad in the raging civil war in that country and working with its allies on these issues.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Speaker on Israel; Mike Ghouse

SPEAKER ON ISRAEL
www.IsraelPalestineDialogue.com 

Mike maintains a full blog on Israel Palestine dialogue and has written over 100 pieces among the 300 at the website.

His mission is security for Israel and Justice for the Palestinians, and believes one will not happen without the other. He has appeared on many TV shows about the issue and several video clips have been made and some are at this site on home page.


Mike is perhaps the first  and only Muslim to commemorate Holocaust and Genocides annually in promoting education about Holocaust for the last eight years. www.HolocaustandGenocides.com 


He is deeply committed to building cohesive societies, and has an equal commitment to Jews as with the people of other faiths. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/holocaust-and-the-muslim-_b_4629509.html#es_share_ended

Mike has stood up for Jews, along with every other human from Atheist to Zoroastrian and every one in between.
http://standingupforothers.blogspot.com/2012/02/standing-up-with-jews.html 

Additional information about Mike in relations to Jews, Judaism and Israel
http://israel-palestine-dialogue.blogspot.com/2012/02/about-israel-palestine.html


More about Mike Ghouse by Pluggin in "Mike Ghouse Jewish " in Google.  Holocaust Mike Ghouse, or Judaism Mike Ghouse.

He has traveled extensively throughout Israel and Palestine and has given talks on peace in Jerusalem including Knesset Members, Mayor of Jerusalem and Palestinian Parliament members. 

Mike Ghouse is also one of the Board Members of Israel Palestine Confederation - http://www.ipconfederation.org/ and is committed to peace. 

Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post. 

All about him is listed in several links at 
www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. 

More about Mike at www.MikeGhouse.net and 62 links there in.

Thank you
Mike Ghouse

(214) 325-1916 text/talk

Obama Preparing For Unprecedented Sanctions on Closest Ally

The Israeli media is promoting the following video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9EOiaanGVY#t=139

Its amazing that it is being presented as a wrongful, why would it be wrong to follow international law and doing the right thing. 


The real need is security for Israel and justice for the Palestine, one will not happen without the other.  Not the Jews, and not the moderate Israelis, but a minority of Israeli politicians have hijacked Israel. Their actions are to the detriment of long term security of Israel. Shame on them, it is time for the moderate Jews to speak up along with 96% of the world (average voting pattern in the United Nations). 


I am really concerned about where Israel is heading? Legitimizing the illegitimate! I am for the Security of Israelis and Justice for the Palestinians, and believe in building cohesive societies. 


 ........................................................................................................... 

Mike Ghouse is a public speaker, thinker, writer and a commentator on Pluralism at work place, politics, religion, society, gender, race, culture, ethnicity, food and foreign policy. He is commentator on Fox News and syndicated Talk Radio shows and a writer at major news papers including Dallas Morning News and Huffington Post.  All about him is listed in several links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at www.TheGhousediary.com and 10 other blogs. He is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Israel Must Renounce Nuclear Arms and USA Media remains MIA

www.IsraelPalestineDialouge.com

Our Mission at America Together Foundation is a commitment to build cohesive societies where no human has to live in apprehension or fear of the other. We continue to take a stand and speak up. Here is our response to a piece about Nuclear Arms.

Eileen, thanks for writing this piece.

Here is an eye opener to those who are gifted with eyes.  "
The resolution, adopted in a 161-5 vote, noted that Israel is the only Middle Eastern country that is not party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons." 

When 161 Nations see the world one way and the 5 see it the other, it builds resentment towards the US and Israel. 96% of the world (161/166) population is frustrated for the non-accountability of Israel and the blind support of the United States.  Of course, we have a commitment to support Israel, but not blindly. We must stand by Israel if it is threatened, and pushed around, but when it is violating all the UN resolutions and rejecting the US requests to hold of on settlements, our support is counter productive for Israel's long term security.

A few thoughtless Jewish men try to slap Anti-Semitism on to everyone and everything, scaring the shit out of people from speaking up, how dumb! They need to get off the high horses of prejudice, it is not Arabs who build resentment, stupid, it is the 161 Nations out there, including almost all of the Latin,  European, African and Asian Nations. 

The moderate Jews need to speak up, I am positive, the Jews and Israeli majority wants peace, but Mr. Netanyahu is holding them together with frightening scenarios, letting them sacrifice the principle of justice for the false security promised through the power of almighty weapons.

The right wing policies in the name of Jews and Israel will delay the long awaited genuine security for the Israelis. It is time they speak up.

Mike Ghouse
www.IsraelPalestineDialogue.com

# # #

UN Resolution Israel Must Renounce Nuclear Arms and USA Media remains MIA

Courtesy of Arab Daily News

By Eileen Fleming

The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved an Arab-backed resolution calling on Israel to renounce possession of nuclear weapons and put its nuclear facilities under international oversight.
The resolution, adopted in a 161-5 vote, noted that Israel is the only Middle Eastern country that is not party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. It called on Israel to “accede to that treaty without further delay, not to develop, produce test or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons, to renounce possession of nuclear weapons” and put its nuclear facilities under the safeguard of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency.
The United States, Canada, Palau and Micronesia joined Israel in opposing the measure, while 18 countries abstained…
The U.N. resolution, titled “The risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East,” pushed for the establishment of a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East and lamented that U.S.-backed efforts to convene talks were abandoned in 2012…
U.S. representative Robert Wood, in voting against the resolution at the committee-level last month, said the measure “fails to meet the fundamental tests of fairness and balance. It confines itself to expressions of concern about the activities of a single country.”
Wood said the U.S. will continue pushing a Middle East free of weapons of mass destructions, but he warned that such resolutions only undermine prospects for progress.
Reuters/Amir Cohen
Reuters/Amir Cohen
As of this writing, the last comment published on the ABC thread:
Long over due= watch how main stream media bury this story.
At first my reply was waiting to be approved by ABC News and then was removed 43 minutes ago —but it follows here:
Indeed they have tried to ignore it but the truth is all over the Internet:
Catch up on LOTS more USA Media ignores regarding USA collusion in Israel’s Nuclear DECEPTIONS in the FREE Ebook:
Mordechai Vanunu, Nov. 2013, photo by Eileen Fleming
Mordechai Vanunu, Nov. 2013, photo by Eileen Fleming


“Many journalists come here to the American Colony, from CNN and NY Times. They all want to cover my story, but their EDITORS say no…CNN wants to interview me; but they say they can’t do it because they don’t want problems with the Israeli censor. BBC is doing the same thing.
“Sixty Minutes from the United States from the beginning they wanted to do a program, but because of the censor situation they decide not to do it. Also big media from Germany, France, Italy, Japan. None of them wants problems with the Israelis.”


As Don Hewitt instructed reporters, “Tell me a story. It’s that easy” YOU can begin catching up on a 28 year old story the American Media has failed to report on in the the FREE EBook:

The Vanunu Legend Israel’s Nuclear Whistleblower’s Struggle for Freedom



In 2005, Eileen Fleming established WeAreWideAwake.org in response to her first of 8 trips to both sides of The Wall as a public service.

Eileen is the Administrator for FREE VANUNU and TNT/Telling Nuclear Truths
Follow her at TWITTER, read her sixth book as she lives it HERE.
Her fifth book, The Vanunu Legend Israel’s Nuclear Whistleblower’s Struggle for Freedom was published 24 September 2014, as a FREE EBook.

Thursday, December 4, 2014

How Netanyahu Committed Political Suicide

I am glad I understand the Israel Palestine issue precisely as the thoughtful Jewish leaders do. I have always admired Prof Alon Ben-Meir and I hope the the right wing Jewish leaders listen to him, and of course me.  This morning I wrote in a note in response to the Jewish symbols the following:

Communicating  the idea of “Surviving Peace” through symbols (Poster) can be achieved without compromising the Jewishness of the state. The least conflicting image to convey “surviving peace” is the steady presence of wall through several destruction,  and the constant presence of dome of the rock, with a cross symbol on one of the churches in the background. All have survived and assure the population about its eternality – and thus surviving wars and peace.

The Jewish people have endured “homelessness, thus insecurity” for thousands of years, and identifying Israel as Jewish state gives them a sense of security of being home. The Jewish people can consider giving that up over a period of time, if and when the world assures them through actions and with the decline of AntiSemitism.

The world is guilty of Anti-Semitism, however, its increase is caused by short-sightedness on part of the leadership and will change when together we all wake up the leaders up to think long term.

Once a sense of security is achieved, Israel will become a secular or pluralistic democratic state, we all have to work towards that goal.
I got the message about the Star of Davis and the color Yellow, I have been using it for the last 8 years at our www.HolocaustandGenocides.com events.

 How Netanyahu Committed Political Suicide
Prof Alon Ben-Meir

http://www.alonben-meir.com/article/netanyahu-committed-political-suicide/?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_campaign=5dc1b053f4-UA-5963141-2&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_6e846e6217-5dc1b053f4-293258441



Dec 4, 2014

Prime Minster Netanyahu’s insistence on passing a bill that will define Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people is as disgraceful as his denial that Israel is not an occupying power. If the bill were to pass now or in the future, it would blow up what’s left of Israel’s democracy and destroy rather than save the Jews’ last haven for which they have yearned for centuries.

The collapse of Netanyahu’s government is indicative of how divisive this bill was. The more cogent question, however, is why Netanyahu, who is supposed to be politically savvy, pressed on with such a bill at a time when Israel is under intense international pressure to end the occupation and is soundly criticized for discriminating against its significant Arab minority?

Netanyahu is motivated by a narrow religious conviction that bequeaths the “Land of Israel” in perpetuity to the Jewish people, which requires no evidence to prove its correctness, and his upbringing as a zealous ideologue reinforced by his father, which blurs his vision and prevents him from seeing the changing reality on the ground.

Netanyahu really believes that he has been ordained to pursue this ‘sacred mission’ to shape Israel’s destiny regardless of any domestic or international opposition. He feels ‘obliged’ to do whatever it takes to enshrine the exclusive right of the Jews in their homeland, including the West Bank. 

Even before he dismissed his government, Netanyahu had already begun to negotiate with the religious political parties to join him in a new government, promising generous financial appropriations to run their ministries as long as they stand behind him and support his misadventures. 

It is hard to believe how Netanyahu has lost complete sight as to why Israel was created in the first place. The purpose behind Zionism was not the creation  of a Jewish state at the expense of the Palestinians by pushing them out of their place of birth, building settlements on their land, and discriminating against the country’s own Arab citizens. Israel was created to provide a home for the Jewish people as a democratic and just nation so that the Jews would cease to be the bastards of humanity and instead, offer hospitality like any other nation and live with security and peace. 

What Netanyahu and his misguided ministers—Lieberman, Bennett, Ya’alon and  company—have done is the precise opposite: making Israel an isolated pariah state, sticking its finger in the eyes of the international community and portraying the Jews as uncompromising and arrogant who can defy their critics—be they friends or foes—with impunity. 

Netanyahu and his cohorts not only give rise to anti-Semitism but give anti-Semites all the ammunition they need to justify their anti-Israeli sentiments and acts of violence against Jews nearly everywhere. 

If he seized the premiership again, Israel’s very existence would be in jeopardy, not because the Palestinians are bent on Israel’s destruction or because Iran wants to wipe Israel off the map with nuclear weapons, but because by his own actions he is chipping away Israel’s right to exist.
A multitude of current and former Israeli officials, including President Rivlin, former President Peres, scores of scholars and security professionals, millions of Israelis, and all of Israel’s allies see no rhyme or reason to suggest that such a bill will make Israel more secure or more Jewish than it is today.

The 1947 UN partition plan called for the establishment of a Jewish state, and every symbol of the country attests to its Jewishness: it has a Jewish majority, a Jewish national identity, Jewish symbols, and a national anthem that invokes the Jews’ yearning “to be a free people in our land.” 

For a country that presumably honors the freedom and rights of every citizen, this bill will trash every principle of democracy and freedom. The Israelis will never be free and at peace as long as the Israeli Arabs are discriminated against and the occupation persists.

No bill or legislation or recognition by the Palestinians as a Jewish state will guarantee Israel’s Jewish identity other than a sustainable Jewish majority. Netanyahu has lost tremendous political ground; it may not manifest itself today but it will eventually sink into the Israelis’ minds what this travesty was all about.

Instead of making peace with the Palestinians and upholding the democratic principles of the country to attract Jews to immigrate to Israel, he is alienating hundreds of thousands of Israeli Jews who are fed up with the never-ending conflict with the Palestinians and opting to leave Israel. 

By merely introducing such a bill, Netanyahu has already rendered the greatest damage to Israel’s international image and standing and evoked an outcry from hundreds of thousands of loyal Israeli Arab citizens who now feel betrayed and estranged from their fellow Israeli Jews. 

Furthermore, Netanyahu’s bill does nothing but pronounce Israel’s Arab citizens as undesirable and unworthy of Israeli citizenship; they basically have no future in their country of birth. In fact, Netanyahu is waging psychological terrorism against a significant segment of the Israeli population while sending a clear message to the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza that the two-state solution is a thing of the past. 

To be sure, the bill that Netanyahu wants to pass is like the explosives a suicide bomber wears on his chest, with his finger on the trigger. Whether or not Netanyahu releases the trigger, he has already demonstrated how far he will go to satisfy his blind self-proclaimed mission that will rain havoc on Israelis and Palestinians alike. Netanyahu must never be given another chance to present such a vile bill again.

Only the people of Israel can send Netanyahu to a permanent retirement and save the Jews’ millennium-long dream to live as free people with their Arab neighbors with dignity, security and peace.

Click here to read this article and more on AlonBen-Meir.com.