Blessing Jewish Settlements

Why do many Jewish people insist on continuing to build homes in the West Bank, which Israel was left in control of after the 1967 war?

Because the Bible so instructs them.

On the sabbath this week, Jews read in synagogue the following:

Widen the place of your tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of your habitations, do not spare; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.

For right and left shall you prevail, and your seed shall inherit nations and repeople desolate cities. (Isaiah 54:2-3)

Yet, Israel last November announced a complete freeze on building in Jewish communities in the West Bank and Jerusalem. Not even construction to accommodate natural growth is allowed. And who says Israel refuses to make painful concessions to its enemies?

It is also remarkable that the current Israeli government, to its credit, is turning scripture into policy by announcing a new initiative, described recently in the Jerusalem Post, to offer incentives to Israeli "yordim" who've left the country to live elsewhere to get them to return home.

They say Jewish settlements are an impediment to peace. Actually, active settlement expansion can help achieve peace sooner by showing Israel's enemies that time is not on their side -- that their only hope of halting Jewish expansion is to return to peace talks sincerely ready to compromise.

Confronting Anti-Israel Delegitimization

The MiddleEastContrarian is all about making suggestions or presenting ideas that others too quickly dismiss as unwise, unnecessary, or some other unflattering adjective and then ultimately have those ideas prove to be right later on.

I found this out the hard way in the summer of 2000 when I wrote a finished intelligence product for the U.S. Department of State that predicted the outbreak of violence between Israel and the Palestinians that September but which never was published because it was deemed too risky and no one wanted to be seen as having approved it if violence didn't pan out.

So, a few weeks ago, I suggested to a very pro-Israel friend of mine that the American pro-Israel community needs a new organization to actively confront the rapidly growing campaign to delegitimize Israel worldwide. Since Israel's detractors cannot defeat it on the battlefield, they have moved the battle to the media, civil society organizations, store shelves (product boycotts), music (artists pressured to cancel concerts), and elsewhere. A few existing organizations confront delegitimization selectively but there is no coordination among them. That's because everyone worries about taking credit themselves so they can use it for fundraising. God forbid you share in a success and a donor gives a share of what he or she would have given you to someone else!

So, this friend of mine basically said, "That's an awful idea. There are plenty of organizations already doing this. Who will fund YOU?"

But the need for a such a single-focused, organized effort now is more apparent than ever. As recently as August 8, Israel's Yediot Achronot newspaper, a major daily, wrote in an editorial that a new organization "must be established that will try to return fire against the process of delegitimization that spans continents and against apathy."

If only the MiddleEastContrarian had the resources to create or support such an organization himself.

International Double-Standard on House Demolitions

International opinion towards Israeli counterterrorism is biased and reflects a double-standard.

Israeli policy is to demolish the houses of Palestinian suicide bombers to exact a significant enough cost so that others choose not to emulate them. The policy is divisive, even within Israel. Critics argue that, if a bomber's family had no idea of his plans, why should it be punished. Israel examines each situation individually, but with bombers taking the lives of dozens of innocent Israelis with them, Israel is left with little choice but to try to deter more attacks.

The United Nations has condemned the practice and called upon Israel to "respect its obligations under international humanitarian law...not to undertake demolition of homes."

The U.S. State Department has said the "demolition of civilian structures deprives Palestinians of shelter and the ability to peacefully earn a livelihood" and "make[s] more difficult bringing an end to violence." However, with bombings now halted, it seems demolitions expedited, not prevented, an end to violence.

For several years, Nigeria has suffered from a pandemic of kidnaps-for-ransom, mostly of foreign-company workers in the oil-rich Niger Delta. More recently, however, as foreign workers have taken security precautions, kidnappers have begun to target more often local political leaders, the wealthy, and others.

Recently, the government of Nigeria's Enugu State announced that "any house used to harbor [kidnapped] hostages or found to be a hideout for kidnappers...will be demolished while the certificate of occupancy...will be revoked and the property seized by the government." The State's Governor said the government "would not accept any excuse from anybody.... No one is above the law. We will tackle the problem of kidnappers and violent crime in the state [one] hundred percent, not with kid gloves."

The announcement has prompted not one word of criticism or condemnation from the U.S. State Department, United Nations, or others. Nor should it. As long as Israelis are not doing the demolition, house demolition appears to be an internationally-acceptable strategy of helping to ensure public safety.

Ha'aretz Takes Anti-Israel Criticism Too Far

It's hard to believe that Ha'aretz is an Israeli newspaper.

It never misses an opportunity to criticize this or that Israeli policy. One would think it an Arab or European newspaper.

Ha'aretz seldom finds reason to highlight anything positive about Israeli policy on most issues.

Israel is facing a brutal campaign of delegitimization worldwide. It is constantly vilified in the media, on college campuses, at the United Nations and other international bodies, and elsewhere. Israel has struggled to defend itself against this relentless hostility but has finally decided to fight back. Under the superb leadership of Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, Israeli diplomats are taking the offensive in explaining the facts about Israel, and Israeli cabinet members have been dispatched to speak publicly abroad. For example, Ayalon wrote this gutsy op-ed in an Arab newspaper shifting blame for the stalled peace process from Israel.

The Foreign Ministry has launched a new campaign called, "Explaining Israel," but sure enough, Ha'aretz has found reason even to criticize this noble effort.

[T]he campaign does not offer hope for working toward a solution to the Israeli-Arab conflict, only baseless faith that hasbara - public diplomacy - will lead the international community to abandon the Palestinians and begin supporting the settlers.

The paper calls the campaign "ridiculous" and "disconcerting" and faults the campaign for highlighing "irritating lists of trivial [Israeli] achievements."

Ha'aretz ought to be ashamed. What is so wrong with Israel making a better effort to tell its side of the story? Nothing. Rather, the issue is that Ha'aretz is afraid the truth will get out, making its editorial positions on so many issues even more untenable. With editorials like these condemning Israel's new public relations campaign, one would hope the newspaper's liberal readers would finally call out Ha'aretz as having gone too far.

Mossad Made Me Proud

It seems like everyone's been on the Mossad's case in recent days. The world's press is after Israel's secret intelligence service for a successful hit on a leading Hamas terrorist in Dubai in which assassins reportedly used fake British passports to enter the country. The Washington Post has led the campaign to expose any Mossad role and vilify the organization. Amid the criticism, it seems lost that killed was a man responsible for the murder of two Israelis in the 1980s and, more recently, smuggling advanced rockets into Gaza to fire at Israel.

Meanwhile, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports on the many successes achieved by Mossad under the leadership of Meir Dagan, a confidant of former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who appointed him to the post in 2002. I had the pleasure of meeting Dagan in Tel Aviv in 2001, months before his appointment. U.S. officials at Embassy Tel Aviv had no appreciation for why I sought the meeting and only reluctantly scheduled it. I knew, however, that Dagan was destined to return to an influential role in the Israeli government. The JTA piece makes clear just how much Israelis -- and the world, for that matter -- ought to be grateful for his leadership of Mossad and how deserving he is of reappointment when his term ends later this year.

Reporter Manufacturing Conflict, Again

Howard Schneider of the Washington Post mentions today Israeli plans to renovate two ancient sacred Jewish sites in Hebron and near Bethlehem, in the disputed West Bank. He says the plans may cause Palestinians to question Netanyahu's willingness to see to the eventual creation of a Palestinian state. Of course, Schneider doesn't quote any Palestinians saying this, which means that he is suggesting it only himself -- in other words, making news instead of reporting it. Strike one.

More importantly, the planned renovations have nothing to do with a Palestinian state, as renovating the sites will not involve land confiscation. Is Schneider, then, suggesting that renovation is counterproductive because the sites -- thousands of years old -- would be demolished upon creation of a Palestinian state? Removing the sites would be outrageous. They should remain and be protected -- by Jews -- regardless of the eventual disposition of the land they sit on. Moreover, the Palestinians ought to be respectful of the sacredness of those sites and welcome the renovations, just as Israel respects the integrity and sovereignty of Muslim sites on land it controls.

Schneider's suggestion of a conflict shows, again, that he always seeks to manufacture excuses to blame Israel for creating friction and trouble. Worse yet, his insistence on doing so is completed unchecked by his editors.

Jews Who Defame Jews and Israel

Isi Leibler has a good column today on Jews who write, speak, and otherwise engage in activities defaming other Jews, the Jewish faith, and Israel. He reveals that the New Israel Fund financially supports organizations that blamed Israel for war crimes during its campaign last winter against Hamas in Gaza and that liberal members of the Israeli Knesset who were once NIF supporters are now spearheading efforts to investigate its activities against the State.

Next, someone should identify and try to explain why so many liberal Jewish lawyers prefer to defend Arab terrorists in Israel and radical Islamists arrested in the United States and elsewhere. What is it in these people that compels them to come to the defense of enemies of Jews? Why not leave the work to others?