Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Lack of knowledge of history or personal bias?

Obama's Jerusalem Stonewall - Mortimer Zuckerman
Mr. Obama has undermined Israel's confidence in U.S. support. He uses the term "settlements" to describe massive neighborhoods that are home to tens of thousands of Jews. It certainly sends signals to the Palestinians. The Palestinian Authority followed the president's lead and refused to proceed with planned talks until Israel stops all so-called settlement activities, including in East Jerusalem.
President Obama's attitude toward Jerusalem betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the history of the city. After Israel was recognized as a new state in 1948, it was immediately attacked by the combined armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. The attacks were repelled, but the Jordanians conquered East Jerusalem and separated it from its western half. In 1967, the Arab armies again sought to destroy Israel, but it prevailed in the famous Six-Day War and reconquered East Jerusalem, the West Bank, the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip.
Under Jordanian rule, from 1948 to 1967, dozens of synagogues were destroyed or vandalized. The ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives was desecrated, its tombstones used for the construction of roads and Jordanian army latrines. The rights of Christians as well as Jews were abused, with some churches converted into mosques. Since Israel reunited Jerusalem in 1967, it has faithfully protected the rights and security of Christians, Muslims and Jews. Christians now control the Ten Stations of the Cross; Muslims control the Dome of the Rock. Yet the Palestinians often stone Jewish civilians praying at the Western Wall below. Freedom of religion in Jerusalem should not be compromised by American policy. (Wall Street Journal)//
***Hey! What about Palestinian "sovereignty?" Or was the "Palestinian People" just an invention of Yasser Arafat?****
Who Speaks for the Palestinians? - Elliott Abrams
Abbas said he hopes to get Arab League approval for indirect talks with Israel. This is a giant step backwards. With all the talk about the critical importance of Palestinian independence, Abbas is now refusing to make any decision about peace, instead deferring to Arab states. This is a return to the days when the Palestinians were under the control of Arab states rather than masters of their own future. Putting the Arab League in charge magnifies the influence of bad actors. To get negotiations going, the Obama administration now has to convince not only Abbas, but Bashar al-Assad. The writer is a senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. (Weekly Standard)

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