Obama's visit to Israel and the hope

MIKE GHOUSE, SEAN HANNITY AND OTHERS ON FOX NEWS
Friday night special about Obama's trip to Israel.

URL -http://israel-palestine-dialogue.blogspot.com/2013/03/obamas-visit-to-israel-and-hope.html 

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Obama's visit to Israel and the hope
New York, March 20, 2013. There will be 20 of Sean Hannity’s guest commentators  at  Fox Studios in New York to night  to talk about President Obama’s trip to Israel, and it will be filmed to be broadcasted on Friday night.   

Courtesy of Telegraph.

I am glad Hannity invited me to be a part of this meeting, as I am deeply committed to finding ways for peace in the Middle East; the mother of all conflicts in the world. I have nothing to gain but see peace.

Security of Israel is tied to justice for the Palestinians, one will not happen without the other. Neither the right wing Israeli hawks can send the Palestinians in to bushes, nor can the Palestinians will drive the Israelis into the sea. Neither will happen but, both will continue to suffer due to their arrogance and inability to see inwards while others are cashing in on those gratuitous statements.   

The leaders in both the states do not represent the common public, they are like Bush, who was opposed by 72% of Americans, yet he caused so much death and destruction of Americans as well as the Iraqis and Afghanis based on blatant lies.  The Israeli and Palestinian leadership is in the same boat and I do hope Pew conducts a survey to determine if the leadership reflects the peace the public wants.  Given the history of people, neither the majority of Israelis nor the Palestinians are the problem, it is the leadership.

The overriding need for security has pushed them in quick sand of injustice, they were a just people and we need to find a way out.  Obama can help it by recognizing the Palestinian statehood, which will benefit Jewish psyche, a sigh of relief – to have acceptance of undisputed home land, a genuine source of security.

 Here is a video appeal to Obama - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNYmI6MlhZw&feature=related

Indeed, we the Americans, and the Arabs, have messed up the Israel-Palestine conflict. We chose to die for our allies at all costs, and got them to entrench into hawkish positions. Had we got them to sit down instead, and talk as a condition of our aid and support, then we would have done good for both the Israelis and the Palestinians.

The American Hawks, particularly my fellow Republicans cannot see it, as they had no clue about the elections they just lost; they supported lies in the past and will continue to believe in fabrications.

It is sickening to hear the hawks shouting out loud that we need to protect our allies; they don’t mean it. We need to question their integrity, and if AIPAC does not support them or threaten their elections prospects, would they still be sincere?

Israel does not need duplicity; she needs genuine friends who will bring security now through dialogue, and not lying to them we will support you no matter what. How long the ordinary Israelis will be duped by these rogues? 

I hope Obama appeals to the Israeli and Palestinian public,and pray that Netanyahu, Abu Mashaal and Abbas see the validity of Israel's security and Justice to the Palestinians with long term ideals of normal living.

Here are a few basics.

Israel
Jews have a need to be understood and be acknowledged for their eternal security needs, not the military, but mental security where they can put their guards down and live their life in peace.

Palestine

Palestinians have a need to be understood. They have suffered immeasurably, no human should be stripped of his or her hope and dignity; hope to have a family, work and own a house and call a place their homeland. The world has failed them.

Threat

The real threat to the peace process between Israel and Palestine stems from their inability to look at their own policies critically. It is time to quit blaming and start finding solutions. Damn it, the leaders ought to be ashamed of themselves if they cannot look in the eyes of Palestinian and Israeli Children and commit to give them a better life.

The leaders need to learn,  that they cannot have peace and security when they keep threatening others around them, period. Peace is always the responsibility of the mighty.

U.S.A.

Our Presidents need to seriously look at what works. They need to have the vision for peace. They must understand that it may be going against the general opinion and must take bold steps and produce peace for the people of Israel and Palestine. It will save lives and brings peace to them and takes a burden off us.

We must protect Israel, our ally; however, if that protection is based on injustice to either Palestinians or compromising long term security of Jews, our integrity becomes questionable. We need to be above reproach and seek justice for one and all.

Mighty empires can crush the weak for a short term; in the long run every one goes down the tube. We cannot rob anyone and live with a good conscience.

The Right wing Jews of Israel and America do not like to hear reasoned voices of Moderate Jews and others including mine, likewise the right wing Muslims do not like to hear reasoned voices including mine. Just to clarify, the right wingers are not a group or set of people, it is the mental attitude  of individuals that gets them to dig in their heels, their solutions to the problem is kill all the Palestinians in the name of Jesus and Moses, and same goes the other way- kill all Jews in the name of Allah.

Mind you, the right wing nuts are few, but they bark louder in unison and we need to outnumber them, not in barking, but to let them know that more people want peace than conflict. That will begin the process of  weakening the bad and strengthening the good, for the common good of all parties.
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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace, Islam, Israel, India, and interfaith. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. He believes in Standing up for others and has done that throughout his life as an activist. Mike has a presence on national and local TV, Radio and Print Media. He is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News; fortnightly at Huffington post; and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes all his work through links.

How to achieve Security for Israel and Justice for the Palestinians

How to achieve Security for Israel and Justice for the Palestinians
Link: http://israel-palestine-dialogue.blogspot.com/2012/11/how-to-achieve-security-for-israel-and.html

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The long term security of Israelis hinge on justice to the Palestinians, and peace to the Palestinians depends on the safety of Israelis. One will not happen without the other. In view of accomplishing the twin goal, both parties have failed the respective populations. The following essay may not be comfortable to a segment of Jews and Muslims, but the recommendations must be factored in to finding a sustainable solution.  

Security may be broadly defined as living without fear and apprehension, the state of security exists when the Israelis can go about shopping in the malls without caution, drop their guard when their children and family members ride a bus, and when they visit the pyramids, they can do so without second thoughts.

Justice to the Palestinians exists when they can live without worries of getting kicked out of their own homes, when have their own identity in the world as people of Palestine, have their own passport without the apartheidic restrictions, rights to the land they can call their own, and move about freely without check posts or the walls.

The Palestinians and Israelis are indeed endowed by “their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Now let’s acknowledge the actions of the parties in the light of accomplishing that twin goal and put them back on the track. 

When a child or a spouse is pushed around, placed on a curfew,  threatened, and his or her liberties stripped, he or she is left with few options than cursing, hurling dishes, and  quietly or blatantly destroying the belongings of the oppressive man of the house.  In your work place, when you are pushed around, and cannot do much against the tyrant boss, what do you do? Regardless of where this happens, be it in the United States, China, Israel, Saudi Arabia or Mexico, the response would be similar.

It is shameful to justify the behavior of the oppressor, “They did not listen to him, they were disobedient and destructive, and the man of the house did the right thing; beat the crap out of them and teach them a lesson.”

The woman who is raped is blamed for going to the bar, or wearing a mini skirt or getting drunk while shooting the pool with the boys. This stinky attitude is even prevalent among women.    

The Hutus justified the massacre of Tutsis, as the oppressors always do.  When President Habyarimana of Rwanda was assassinated in 1994, the Hutu majority went on a killing spree and we witnessed the Rwandan Genocide of the Tutsis. When Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of India was assassinated in 1984, the Hindu mobs went on a killing spree of the Sikhs. The Muslim mobs have gone on torturing the minorities in Pakistan, Indonesia and elsewhere. The words used and justifications made were similar.  The oppressors, rapists, murderers and tyrants always justify their behavior.

Hamas Terror

We unequivocally condemn Hamas for their random shelling of the rockets into Israel; and the shameful acts of terrorizing the civilian population in Israel.  As a Muslim I protest their acts, and request the Organization of Islamic Countries to join the Muslims worldwide in condemning these acts, and demand Hamas to give up terrorizing the innocent and seek solutions through civil process.

Paul Goldstein, my Jewish American friend living in Norway writes, “These (acts) have instilled fear into the daily lives of innocent Israeli civilians throughout the country, and have hit major cities, causing injuries, damage, and fatalities. Many hundreds of rockets are hitting Israel daily.” And he adds, “No country in the world can or should tolerate being subjected to continuous rocket attacks against its major population centers. With sadness, I concede that Israeli military action is necessary in this emergency situation to protect its citizens in safety, Jews and Arabs alike.” 

President Obama also defended Israel, “Israel has every right to expect that it does not have missiles fired into its territory, “and, "If that can be accomplished without a ramping up of military activity in Gaza, that's preferable...”

The actions of Hamas are unforgivable, and I appeal to the thoughtful among you, did we give them choices to act differently?  

 “When peace comes, we will perhaps in time be able to forgive the Arabs for killing our sons, but it will be harder for us to forgive them for having forced us to kill their sons.” -  Former Prime Minister of Israel, Golda Meir.

Israeli Reaction

In every ugly massacre or genocide, whether it was the Hutsies, Hitler, Saddam, Assad, Gaddaffi or others; they rulers wanted to teach a lesson to the entire population for the acts of the few.   

Can we justify these acts to keep the urchins, spouses or irritants in their place? I am severely disappointed at the short-sightedness of President Obama and his administration.  We should have paid attention to the missiles long time ago and found solutions then, instead of waking up one day and justifying brutal retaliation. 

What was Prime Minister Netanyahu doing all these months, instead of initiating a dialogue he chose to pound Gaza, did the think that the missiles will stop reigning on their own? 

The illegal settlements and lawlessness has to stop; it brings despair to the Palestinians who want peace. The brutal retaliation needs to stop, it is a burden that the Prime Minister may escape but the Israelis will have to carry it on their psyche for generations to come. Is that the kind of Nation Israelis want?  Does violence solve the problems, has it ever? 

Unintended consequences 

If the United Nations were to place “Cease fire” for vote today, more than likely, 178 nations will vote yes, and five will go against it including the United States, Israel and a few dependent nations. Do you think the people of the 178 nations feel resentment and bitterness toward the powerful? This is not good for Jews or Israel and the world in the long haul.
The retaliatory actions taken by Netanyahu, and endorsed by Obama are detrimental to Israel’s security in the long run.  Their actions do not mitigate conflicts, but flare up and prolong the eternal dream of Jews to live in peace and security. Not only that, they massively contribute to the growing anti-Semitism which has been the very reason for the suffering of Jews for over 3000 years. 

 Injustice against the weak will not go un-reacted to, the only thing the people around the world will feel is build resentment towards the United States and certainly events like this will contribute to Anti-Semitism. Take a look at the Anti-Israel rage across globe as violence in Gaza goes on http://rt.com/news/protest-israel-gaza-war-984/
Call for action.

The United Nations need to call for an immediate cease-fire; both parties need to hold the fire. Goldstein, “Israel cannot cease hostile action on its own side while Hamas continues to terrorize with impunity the citizens of major cities with long-range rocket attacks.”

In the interest of Security for Israelis and Justice for the Palestinians, President Obama has to play an honest broker of peace, which will be tough on our ally Israel.  Demand the Israeli Parliament to invite Hamas leadership to join the talk immediately on our grounds at the Rose Garden. If Saudi Arabia and Egypt are convinced about our sincerity, they will bring Hamas aboard.

Our support to Israel or Palestine should be based on results. We have caused the conflict to prolong, and we bear the responsibility to find solutions. We need to be just and honest.

The Jewish people want sincerity as much as the Palestinians, they don't want duplicity from our leadership, and they had plenty of that in since 1948. They need sincerity and security for Israel and Justice for the Palestinians.

The two state solutions is the way to go forward and one of the most fundamental items to be included in the transaction is to develop a school curriculum without malice towards each other.  A new generation must be raised with hope and goodwill, so they can live in peace and prosperity. This should be an uncompromising goal. 

This is a life time opportunity for President Obama to forge peace between these two people, who have endured a lot of pain and both deserve relief. It’s time for him to earn that Nobel Prize that was dished out to him.

It is in the interest of the world to build cohesive societies, where no one has to live in apprehension, discomfort or fear of the other.  The people of Israel have more options and power to change things, than the Palestinians. May God give sanity to the aggrieved parties to find peace. Amen!

Please visit:

• Video: Katie Pavlich and Mike Ghouse on Sean Hannity - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZGO6UIIxDg
  
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/israel-and-palestine-moving-forward_b_1258261.html
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/commitment-to-israelpales_b_1263793.html
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-ghouse/commitment-to-israelpalestine_b_1263803.html
• Mike Ghouse on Chris Krock/ Steve Malzberg Show http://muslimspeakers.blogspot.com/2012/11/mike-ghouse-on-steve-malzberg-radio-show.html

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Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer on pluralism, politics, peace making, foreign policy, Islam, Israel, India, Pakistan, interfaith, and cohesion at work place or social settings. He is committed to building a Cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day at www.TheGhousediary.com. Mike has a strong presence on national local TV, Radio and Print Media, and is a frequent guest on Sean Hannity show on Fox TV, and a commentator on national radio networks, he contributes weekly to the Texas Faith Column at Dallas Morning News, fortnightly at Huffington post, and several other periodicals across the world. His personal site www.MikeGhouse.net indexes everything you want to know about him.

Israel’s National Security: Myths And Reality

 A serious heart to heart dialogue is warranted, all I see is myths manufactured on both sides. Real and genuine security comes when the people take time to know each other, then conflicts will fade and solutions will emerge. I continue to admire professor Ben-Meir's approach towards solutions.

Mike Ghouse
Israel Palestine Dialogue.com

Israel’s National Security: Myths And Reality

Professor Alon Ben-Meir
Oct 9, 2012

Israel’s national security has, and for good reason, continues to be of prime concerns not only to its citizens but to world Jewry and many of its friends and allies around the globe. Israel has every reason to be weary of its enemies, who have time and again demonstrated that they are not worthy of trust and remain committed to Israel’s destruction both in word and deeds. For this reason, many Israelis have become increasingly more pessimistic and skeptical about the prospect of peace and for that matter, its durability even when achieved. 

This argument, however cogent it may be, has lost much of its significance as time and circumstances have changed. To be sure, although Israel’s military power remains central to its national security, no territorial depth or continued military buildup provides Israel the ultimate security it needs. In the final analysis, Israel’s security rests on peace with the Arab states, and its formidable military prowess must now be used to secure that peace, however elusive it may seem.

There are those who suggest that Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank will make Israel vulnerable to rocket attacks from the mountains overlooking Israel's population and industrial centers in the coastal strip below, rendering the country indefensible. As one critic wrote citing an American military expert, "’modern weapon systems, most of them with components which require line-of-sight emplacement, if deployed in the [Judean and Samarian] mountains…’ [Israel’s] present width in the central sector of the country would be reduced from 40-55 miles to 9-16 miles… [which] would render the country indefensible.” To support this argument there are those who simply take at face value the statements made by right-wing Israeli officials who link territorial depth to national security without examining the real relevance between the two, especially in the context of the West Bank and the territorial depth involved.

Against the one “American military expert” there are hundreds of Israeli military experts who disagree with this argument. No one is suggesting that a peace agreement, in and of itself, provides Israel instant security. Indeed, any peace accord will have to be implemented in stages that would entail quid-pro-quo requiring both sides to fully adhere to all provisions of the agreement, especially on the matter of national security concerns to Israel. Thus, security measures will have to be in place including, for example, the stationing of an international peace force, led by the United States, stationed along the borders with Jordan replete with enforcement capabilities. More important, however, is Israel’s deterrence and its own military that has and can prevent any violation of an agreement with the Palestinians.

With today’s military technology and the proliferation of short and medium range rockets (ranging from three miles to three hundred) in the hands of Hamas and Hezbollah, “modern weapon systems,” regardless of where they are placed, can hit every population center in Israel. Therefore, whether the distance from the mountains of the West Bank is ‘40 to 55 miles or reduced to 9 to 16 miles’ will hardly make any difference. What will make, in the final analysis, a real difference are Israel’s retaliatory capabilities and the potential unacceptable damage that Israel can inflict that would persuade the enemy from provoking Israel.

Ask yourself, why have the Palestinians in the West Bank, Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have refrained from provoking Israel in any serious manner since the Palestinians in the West Bank suffered from the Israeli onslaught in the wake of the Second Intifada in 2000, Hezbollah in 2006 and Hamas in 2009? Hamas and Hezbollah in particular have not as of yet recovered from the destruction they sustained, and for them to re-engage Israel militarily would be nothing short of suicide. This is the reason why the Palestinian Authority opted to forsake violence to achieve its political objectives by peaceful means and the reason behind the relative calm that has prevailed. If one adds to that the element of the peace agreement, the likelihood of a new conflagration will become increasingly less desirable.

The issue is not where the border is finally drawn. Successive Israeli governments have sold the myth to the Israeli public linking the borders to national security, when in fact building settlements, such as Ariel, deep into the West Bank is ideologically motivated and has little if anything to do with national security. Indeed, what makes the border between Israel and a future Palestinian state defensible is not as much where the final border is finally established, but continued Israeli deterrence and, in particular, on the establishment of a comprehensive peace and normal relations in which both sides develop, over time, a vested interest. Any claim to the contrary is baseless regardless of what the ultimate intentions of the Palestinians are, as many Israelis contend.

It is a common belief in Israel that the Arabs, especially the Palestinians, cannot be trusted. They further argue that even if an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement is achieved today the Palestinians will annul it as soon as they feel that its dissolution will work to their advantage. Many Israelis insist that the Palestinians are inherently committed to Israel’s destruction and that for the Palestinians, forging a peace agreement will amount to nothing more than a tactical move while waiting for a better day to realize their ultimate goal to bring about the destruction of Israel. The question is, however, who would make peace on the basis of trust alone? Trust can be cultivated only through a constructive and ongoing relationship that only peace can foster.

Let us assume for a moment that the lack of trust is the main obstacle to making peace. The question is, when will the day come when both sides begin to trust each other? Will it come after developing trade, commercial, cultural, scientific and diplomatic ties, or will it come when the occupation continues, the settlements expand, multiple checkpoints remain in place and thousands of Palestinian prisoners languish in Israeli jails ? Defying Israel today does not come from religious beliefs, albeit Hamas and others find it convenient to create such a link to convey their convictions. Indeed, notwithstanding the religious component of the conflict, the people, including the Palestinians want to live. They know that there is no virtue in dying in vain, especially when the prospect of destroying Israel is virtually non-existent, and more than anything else, when they have something to hold onto, like an independent state of their own.

Israel is and remains, for as far as the eye can see, a military power that no individual Arab state or combination of states can overwhelm militarily, and if they try they will do so at their peril. At no time in its history has Israel been stronger militarily. This mighty military prowess can and will be used to deter, defend or go on the offensive should Israel’s security be threatened. For this reason Israel cannot mortgage its security to a third party, it must remain vigilant, powerful and ready at all times to take any legitimate military action deemed necessary to ensure its survival.

Such a military power however can and indeed must also be used to reach out to the Palestinians and the rest of the Arab states from a position of strength. Otherwise, what is the point of such a military prowess if it does not advance peace? Israel will become increasingly more isolated, gradually evolving into a garrison state with ever diminishing friends and allies. As it is, there is not a single country in the whole world, including the US, that supports the occupation and calls on Israel to end it for its own sake.

Meanwhile Israel is gradually losing its soul and its resonance as it was envisioned by its founders. It is time for the Netanyahu government to be honest with the public and stop covering for the expansion and the building of new settlements in the name of national security.

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