I don’t think Benjamin Netanyahu can answer every criticism by trying to change the subject to Iran and Syria anymore. It looks like the European Union has almost completely lost its patience. Already, the E.U. has banned any grants to Israeli organizations operating in the Occupied Territories, and they will soon require labeling of any Israeli products originating from there. They are also considering requiring visas for any Settlers who want to travel to Europe.
Secretary of State Kerry can use this pressure to help restart peace talks. It is essential that the status quo is not seen as sustainable or acceptable, and I think that is what these E.U. moves are all about.
Over the last few days we’ve there has been a lot of commentary on the web about the Zimmerman case, and a lot of it has come from white supremacists. These are very ugly people.
Netanyahoo and the people who support him are Jewish supremacists. They are just as ugly.
When we halt foreign aid, then I’ll know we’re serious. Until then however ….
The dirty little secret is that most other nations are aware that the IDF and Mossad have not signed on to Netanyahu’s crazy ventures. They allow him to continue to beat the war drums to distract from the hardening apartheid one-party state emerging in Israel and the occupied territories. (Palestine Authority and Gaza are treated as convenient fictions, oppressed most of the time and trotted out to have a foil to complain about not controlling their security.)
Kerry needs to support Bibi. One of the strongest reasons why I support Democrats is they support Israel.
Reasons to support Democrats
Those are the reasons to be a Democrat, change that and I’ll vote Republican because there is no other rational reason to support the Democrats.
In my opinion, the best way to support Israel is to not support Bibi.
Doesn’t address the petro dollar issue which is far more important than whatever the fuck happens to Bibi. We need the petro dollar, not having it isn’t an option.
Explain exactly how supporting Bibi gets oil-producing countries to invest in US assets to recycle the so-called petrodollars.
What it looks like at the moment is that the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia are investing like gangbusters in solar and wind energy production and natural gas facilities.
And that’s because, unlike their public records and statement, in private the Gulf States know they’ve hit peak oil.
Exactly. Moreover, the Yen isn’t the world’s reserve currency, nor is the Pound. Yet they have no danger of inflation that the petrodollar supposedly protects us from. At most the petrodollar allows us to fund our trade deficit of buying useless shit for cheap. Maybe Cosmo SiDC is worried about HIS lifestyle being threatened. Fewer cheap and useless products to prey upon the poor with endless advertising and marketing while allowing the US to increase its exports and reduce the trade deficit? Sounds like a win to me.
You know who else strongly supports the Jewish state? Redneck Christian hicks, oddly enough. And I don’t believe Jewish settlers in the West Bank generally have socially liberal values.
At any rate, we may or may not be getting anything out of our support for the Jewish state, but we are definitely getting fuck all from Netanyahu. I believe the point BooMan was trying to make was that Netanyahu and his gang of thugs are a disaster for the Jewish state.
It’s sort of like how the best way to support the United States ten years ago was not to support George W. Bush.
Stephen, yes. They are called “Christian Zionists”. They “jist luv them some Joos”, and support The Jewish State with all their hearts and souls, Praise the Lord. Of course their goal is to “help” Israel to bring about the End of Days in which, among other things, the Jewish People will be obliterated, as in sucked en masse down into the fiery pit of hell, but there is nothing – no, NOTHING – in the least bit anti-Semitic about their great “love” for Jews, and their unflinching “support” for The Jewish State!
Believe it or not there IS a handful of colonists (the “nicer” word is “settlers”) in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem who are there mainly for religious reasons, who want to live side by side as equals with the Palestinians, and who work with their Palestinian neighbors. They have managed to establish trust with their immediate neighbors, and are generally accepted.
Netanyahu is not all that different, just one of a 65-year string of government leaders with virtually the same goals. The main difference between him and his predecessors is that most of them were a whole lot better at marketing, and he is openly thuggish, and brazen in the way he gives the finger to the U.S. and pretty much the rest of the world.
According to the Palestinians, all of Israel is Occupied Territory.
To the extent that the property was expropriated during the various wars, the Palestinians are correct. To the extent that it was actually purchased, the Israelis are correct.
If you start getting into who legitimately owns what property in a chain-of-title context, it’s a documentary mess. If you start discussing it in a historical context, it is a ideological mess.
In a historical context, no government even ours is legitimate. In the end might makes right and the winners write the official histories. What right did the King of England have to grant land in North America? What right did the Pope have to assign title in South America?
According to the Palestinians, all of Israel is Occupied Territory.
And according to the Israelis, all of Palestine is Israel.
Fortunately, there’s more to look at than what each interested party says.
“According to the Palestinians, all of Israel is Occupied Territory.“
Another standard bullshit claim. According to which Palestinians? Not the majority. Not even to all of Hamas.
The statement that has you so predictably overwrought was written by Voice in the Wilderness. Perhaps you can take it up with him.
I don’t care who said it, it’s untrue, and in a way that damages the Palestinians’ case.
“According to the Palestinians, all of Israel is Occupied Territory.
That is factually incorrect.
Holy crap, you just wrote a comment calling that a “bullshit claim.”
Can I talk to Sybil now?
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Cross-posted from my diary – EU-Israel Trade Agreement, Reading Fine Print.
Haaretz reports that should Kerry’s efforts fail, the E.U. will likely lay most of the blame with Israel and “then move ahead with plans to label goods produced in Israeli settlements across the 28-member union. Other European proposals that have been raised include requiring visas for Israeli settlers wishing to travel to the EU.”
John Kerry says, “Look, man, my partner is crazy! You’d better work with me here, because I don’t know how long I can hold him off.”
The Peace Process is way more stale than Netanyahu. It has been going on a lot longer, and has resulted in more frustration and tragedy for the Palestinians.
How about Kerry just following suit with the EU, which the US should have done decades ago anyway.
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Cross-posted from my diary – John Kerry Brokered Agreement for Start I-P Peace Talks.
all of Israel is Occupied Territory.
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Exclusive handmade jewellery
If I could wave my hand and cause a political figure to step down from his or her position, Netanyahu would be #6 on my list. As Scalia is #1, you can fill in the other four pretty easily. I think Netanyahu is more harmful to the world as a whole, but since I’m stuck in the US I’d have to be selfish and go with Scalia. Of course, we really only need to lose one of the 5 fascist SCOTUS judges so maybe Bibi (that name makes me puke) should be #2.
Now … someone teach me how to do this hand waving bit.
That fact that the US is sending billions to this apartheid war criminal pig really truly makes me ill.
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Natanyahu already misses Dutch Likud foreign minister. One major step forward when Dutch FM Uri Rosenthal did not return in the newly formed coalition in The Netherlands. By using his veto, he personally blocked earlier efforts by the EU to put pressure on Israel. See one of my previous diaries – A Dutch Likud Minister Blocks EU Position ME – Sept. 2011.