Rosh Hashanah and Some Thoughts

As the New Year approaches, it is customary for many of us to take stock of our situation. This is done on a personal level as well as on a national level. Individuals make New Year resolutions which are forgotten once the holiday spirit subsides. Here in Israel, the holiday spirit is very often non-existent because of the stress of family obligations and in the case of many married couples there is an argument as to where the first night will be spent – at which in-laws. The stress of cooking and hosting is the order of the day and for those who are non-observant, it is a trial of nerves.

When we think of what was achieved over the past year from a national point of view, there are many disappointments. The peace process is stumbling and there does not seem to be light at the end of the dark tunnel. The incumbent prime minister, Ehud Olmert, has resigned because of suspicions of corruption contained in envelopes of money that were given to him by a wealthy businessman (or philanthropist – make your choice) Morris Talansky. The new leader of the Kadima Party, Tzippi Livni, has been given the task of forming a new government and replacing Olmert as prime minister. The Likud is waiting in the shadows for an opportunity with Bibi Netanyahu to trip her up so that new elections will be declared which means a certain victory for him and his party.

While we dip our apple slices in honey and eat until satiation, will there be many of us giving a thought to the plight of the Palestinians under the “humane occupation”? The abuse of Palestinians by the settlers in the territories over the years has somehow escaped the attention of the Israeli authorities. This definition of “humane occupation” is a contradiction. NO OCCUPATION IS HUMANE! This is an archaic Zionist concept and the proof of this is the behaviour of the illegal settlers and the soldiers at the check posts towards the Palestinians carrying on their daily lives.

The settler violence against innocent Palestinians is despicable. The perpetrators of this violence are right-wing Zionist Zealots who go about stoning Palestinians and destroying their crops whenever they have a chance. Most of these settlers see the legitimization in violence against Palestinians in their Judaism! The settlers have no right in settling on Palestinian lands under the “humane occupation” and taking the law into their own hands. They build illegal settlements on Palestinian lands and expect the Palestinian population to accept them.

This week we witnessed President Shimon Peres Speech to the UN General Assembly. It was a great speech and filled with much logic and sincerity as to Israel’s desire for peace. History will judge it one of President Peres’ greatest speeches. The Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, gave a speech to the UN General Assembly filled with racism and anybody reading into his address can see that this dictator is no democrat or a man of peace. The world’s attitude towards Ahmadinajad is one of appeasement. He should never have been given a platform to sprout his evil words of hate to the world.

Having mentioned this, I think that we should also view Israel – not only within the context of Shimon Peres’ speech but also in the reality on the ground – the “humane occupation” where there is an abuse of basic human rights of the Palestinians. These abuses do carry on and not much is reported. The crimes of the right-wing Zionist, religious settlers are very often overlooked and they are not held accountable for their harassment of Palestinians. While Israel is overlooking all these incidents and hardly any settler has been charged for these criminal acts, Israel’s position in the world as a “democratic state – a light to the nations” is weakened.

Even during negotiations on an agreement with the Palestinians, there is no freezing of settlements in the occupied territories in practice – only in theory. It is truly Israel’s “phony freeze of settlements” policy. This makes a great dent in Israel’s credibility because it gives the Jewish settlers in occupied lands the right to be above the law and they know it.

The illegal settlers in the territories are cancer in Israeli society. Their behaviour is abominable and their violence spreads even within the green line as witnessed about two days ago when an attempt was made to murder Professor Ze’ev Sternhell. This internationally renowned expert on fascist movements in Europe, a Holocaust survivor whose entire family was murdered by the Nazis, was not another victim of some "wild weed," but of Jewish fascism itself, which continues to extend its roots. The criminals who set the pipe bomb outside Sternhell's home come from the same "garden" as Yona Avrushmi, the murderer of Peace Now's Emil Grunzweig; Baruch Goldstein, responsible for the massacre in the Machpela Cave; Yigal Amir, the murderer of prime minister Yitzhak Rabin; and the West Bank outpost hooligans, who abuse both Palestinians and the security forces. If Yigal Amir was granted the right to couple with his wife in a prison cell and have a child, this adds legitimacy to his ilk that sees him as a hero. Are these values becoming part of Israel? If so it is not surprising that those who oppose the occupation are doing so at their own risk.

"The attempt to hurt Professor Sternhell is the result of the lenient attitude and weakness of the law enforcement agencies towards the extremist and fascist Right and the settlers in the Palestinian occupied territories," said a Communist Party of Israel declaration following the attack. And more: "This thuggish, dangerous act is the result of closing our eyes to the violence against Palestinians, peace and Left activists and all those who disagree with the thugs of the extremist Right. Don't talk to us about 'fringe groups,' this is a growing phenomenon in the Right and the police must take care of it". It is dreaming if we expect the police to take care of these targeted actions aimed at those opposing the occupation and coexistence with our Palestinian neighbours.

Fliers were found in the streets near Sternhell's home promising a reward of 1.1 million shekels to anyone who kills a member of Peace Now. "The time has come for a state according to the Jewish Law in Judea and Samaria! The time has come for the Kingdom of Judea!" declared the fliers. This is how the settlers think and those on the right-wing spectrum of Israeli politics who condemn this Jewish terrorism really have the same ideology in soft serve.

If the occupation remains legitimate as it does today, all those who oppose it and wish to have peace with the Palestinians are on the firing line of the right-wing extremists. This endangers Israel’s democracy and must be condemned.

As Rosh Hashanah approaches, we need to reaffirm our belief in peace and coexistence with our Palestinian neighbours. We must condemn the settler movement that stones Palestinians and usurps their lands. Only if we do this can we eat our apples dipped in honey with satisfaction and with hope for a better world for all in the coming year?

Mafia in Israel and the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict

On first observation, one would say that the two are not connected at all. However on examining this closer, there is more that meets the eye than what can be taken at face value. An Israeli-Arab friend was discussing this with me and I realized that what he said rang a chord with my way of thinking for whatever it is worth. Those who are involved in hit men operations on various crime families were more than likely also involved in cruel raids in Palestinian homes and being quick with the trigger.

The crime leaders seem to be having a field day in Israel as the gang wars continue unabated. There is no sensitivity towards the targets and hired hit men riding on scooters, armed with pistols take pot shots at crime leaders sitting in cafes without any consideration for those innocent passers-by who happen to be in the area at the time of the targeted shootings. It would not be surprising if these hit men had training in the Israeli Army putting down the intifada in the occupied territories.

They know how to break into Palestinian homes and kick Palestinian children out of beds in the middle of the night and conduct searches. Now they have been demobilized from the security forces. They are hired as hit men for the warring crime gangs in Netanya, Lod, Bat Yam, Jerusalem and other areas where opposing crime family syndicates are active.

The crime syndicates of Israel and those who support the continued occupation have one thing in common and that is lack of sensitivity for the human condition and an ambitious desire out of greed to increase their influence and extort others to tow their line. There is a number of opposing crime families and the police are only beginning to scratch the surface of the problem. Some examples of crime families cartels are: Abutbul, Alperon, Abergil and Ze’ev Rosenstein (who is at present serving a sentence for illegal drug trafficking). In the territories, it is the greed of settlers taking away Palestinian lands and building settlements in their place. This is done by stealth. Israel discusses peace with the Palestinians while at the same time a phony freeze on building new settlements is declared. This does not do much for Israel’s credibility in negotiating with the Palestinian leadership. If many Knesset members are corrupt and dishonest, how can we expect them to be honest when negotiating with the Palestinian leadership?

The moment one closes one’s eyes to the Palestinian side and justifies all kinds of draconian measures against the Palestinians in the name of security, then the abuse will land up in Israel as well under the control of lawless crime syndicates of various shapes and sizes. It is a part of the deterioration of Israeli society into indifference when it comes to injustices even if it is directed towards their own.

As if this is not enough, many members of the Knesset have also fallen foul of the law on suspected bribery and corruption charges. Head of this list is Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.This is all part of a general deterioration in Israeli society because of a number of factors.

Meanwhile, Olmert’s Kadima held primaries and Tzippi Livne, the Foreign Minister - a rather mediocre MK with a clean record (you do not have to be great to succeed Olmert; you just need a clean record untainted by suspicions of crime and corruption not to mention toadying with wealthy people who hand out money in envelopes).

Under these circumstances, Israel has no leaders. The parties in the coalition have not resigned because of the various cartels of power that has become very much a part of the ruling Kadima coalition. Apart from threats of breaking up the coalition, nothing has come from Labour, the main coalition party or the other miserable parties that are part of the Knesset Cartel.

In practice, this means that apart from other internal issues such as education, economics, health services as well as salaries of employees are placed on the back burner. The peace process is almost non-existent and the occupation continues with all the insensitivities towards the plight of Palestinians. The Security Forces brutality continues towards pregnant women at check posts as well as other critically ill Palestinians in need of emergency care.

A society that is losing its heart gets the poor leadership that it deserves. The occupation is creating an insensitive, corrupt Israeli society. It is a catalyst for crime gangs of all kinds to prosper as well as an impetus for the continuation of a cruel occupation that encourages settler violence against Palestinians. Human values in Israel are being eroded and this is a true cancer in Israeli society.

A Visit to South Africa and Some Observations

Table Mountain - majestically overlooks Cape Town
and the cold Atlantic Ocean.

During the month of August 2008, my wife and I travelled to Cape Town to visit my mother, sister and family. While we were there, I could not help making certain comparisons between the way South Africa had handled her race problems and had solved many of them. Israel, on the other hand, has not made much headway in solving her problems with the Palestinians.

South Africa’s problems during the evil apartheid years were racial. The whites had dominated the blacks and they were without any address whatsoever. The situation in Israel cannot really be compared to apartheid South Africa. It is different. Nevertheless, the problem with the Palestinians can be divided into two:

1. Security problems – Some Palestinians were involved in terrorist attacks against Israelis during the first and second Intifada years. This resulted in Israel taking retaliatory actions which unfortunately had also caused untold suffering amongst the innocent Palestinian population.
2. Racial problems – there has been an increased emphasis on Israel being referred to as a Jewish State. The innuendo by this statement is that those who are not Jewish may not have the same status and if one were to read some statements by establishment rabbis this feeling is further reinforced. Maybe it is here that some parallels may be found similar to the apartheid system in South Africa.

I had written in a previous post about the differences between apartheid South Africa and the Israeli Palestinian Conflict and I shall not delve into this again.

However, the racial aspect does remain and this can be found in the way Israel is usurping Palestinian lands by forced removals of Palestinians from their agricultural lands in the occupied territories, clearing the way for Jewish settlement expansion. This continues all the time. There is an overlap of security and racial issues. The security fence whose purpose is to protect Israelis from Palestinian terrorist infiltration encroaches into Palestinian agricultural lands creating enormous logistic problems for Palestinian farmers to cultivate their lands which is interspersed with roadblocks and brutal body searches. Also Palestinian homes are demolished without warning in many cases to make way for illegal settlement expansion. This has nothing to do with Palestinian terrorist action but plenty to do with Israeli greed to usurp Palestinian lands for high class settlement expansion and the building of new settlements for Zionist zealots. All this is occurring under the guise of “freezing existing settlements, and halting the building of new settlements”. On the ground the situation is different.

Had the security fence been built along the green line and not crossed into the Palestinian lands the case for its necessity to protect Israeli citizens from terror would be stronger and justified.

While in South Africa, I noticed how the different races had integrated to form a common multiracial society. Blacks and whites are working shoulder to shoulder in executive jobs, factories, the professions and in all aspects of life. I never saw any hostility between the races at all. South Africa was blessed with one of the greatest leaders of the last decade of the 20^th Century – Nelson Mandela! He had a tremendous influence in the relative peaceful transition from a tyrannical apartheid state to a multiracial democratic state.

Here in Israel/Palestine, a leader of the calibre of Nelson Mandela is lacking.

South Africa has many problems, but race is not one of them.

However, this does not mean that South Africa has created the perfect society. Crime is rampant and it has one of the highest crime rates in the world. Another excellent source of information is the South African Police Report on the Crime Situation in South Africa.

Another serious problem is the AIDS problem which was not addressed by President Thabo Mbeki in the past. Southern Africa remains the region worst-affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. A combination of factors seem to be responsible for this including: poverty and social instability, high levels of sexually transmitted infections, the low status of women, sexual violence, high mobility (particularly migrant labour), and lack of good governance. South Africa has the sixth highest prevalence of HIV in the world, with 18.8% of the population estimated to be infected. The UNAIDS 2006 Global Report, estimated that 320 000 people died of AIDS related deaths in South Africa during 2005. South Africa is regarded as having the most severe HIV epidemic in the world.

Many South Africans won their freedom from apartheid but lost it to AIDS.

Despite all these serious problems, there is a feeling of a common patriotism shared by all South Africans, irrespective of their race, colour or creed. We, who live in volatile Israel/Palestine, could learn from the way South Africa had solved its racial issues and instilled a common feeling of “we are in this together and we owe it to ourselves and our children to move forward together for a better South Africa”. This feeling unfortunately is lacking in this part of the world and from this we can learn from South Africa’s experience on solving race problems.

On previous visits to South Africa during the past ten years, unemployment was so high and the large numbers of illegal immigrants entering South Africa to seek work had exacerbated the unemployment situation. Homeless people were found seeking shelter under bus shelters, park benches and just about every public place imaginable. There were also many street venders peddling products that were for sale in upbeat stores at cheaper prices. Today there is an improvement in the situation.

On my recent visit, there were fewer homeless and beggars. There used to be parking meters for those parking at the side of the pavements. These meters have been replaced by parking attendants who give out parking tickets for a nominal fee. This is one of the many ingenious ways to create jobs.

The shopping malls are very upbeat and are a real treat – very inviting to spend money! Wherever one goes one becomes more and more aware of how apartheid has collapsed being replaced by a multiracial society with an eye towards a better future.

The beauty of the Cape Peninsula is unsurpassed with the majestic Table Mountain greeting one on arrival at Cape Town Airport by plane.

The Peace Process and PM Olmert’s Exit

After a rather quiet summer week with nothing much occurring, apart from the usual reports of car accidents and a mafia gang killing an innocent mother caught in the crossfire on Bat Yam Beach, south of Tel Aviv, PM Ehud Olmert made his dramatic announcement of resigning and not standing for re-election as leader of the Kadima Party. This did not come as any surprise to us. He is suspected of very severe financial irregularities which could result in a criminal indictment. He has been receiving money in envelopes from Maurice Talansky, a US Jewish fundraiser, and the financing of his plane fares by rather dubious means giving rise to grave suspicions. He has been under much pressure from his party colleagues as well as the opposition to resign so that he could spend time clearing his name. What should concern us amongst many things is the direction of the peace negotiations with the Palestinians and the indirect negotiations with Syria.

The suspicions of corruption against Olmert have weakened his premiership and it is a pity that he had not resigned earlier allowing the air to be cleared even if it means new elections. There are two serious contesters for the leadership of the Kadima Party, Shaul Mofaz and Tzippi Livni. The latter seems to be more popular. However, it is unlikely that either candidate, whoever is chosen to replace Olmert in the Kadima Party, will be able to form a coalition. It seems that new general elections are just around the corner.

On the one hand, Olmert has been weakened so much by the criminal suspicions against him that he is unable to function in order to make the bold decisions required to negotiate a solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict while on the other hand, the Israeli electorate will move further to the right in its voting patterns and Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu, the Likud leader, will more than like be Israel’s next prime minister. This will be disastrous for the peace negotiations with the Palestinians and the chances of initiating direct negotiations with Syria. This could result in further polarization and a possible end to the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas-ruled Gaza. Bibi will try to create a broad base coalition including Kadima, Labour and Shas as well as the plethora of right wing parties. Labour under Barak will be further weakened and Israel will move towards a total stalemate in peace negotiations. This could result in escalation of violence and the rather shaky cease-fire with Hamas, which exists in the south of the country, could be shattered. The Likud and its right wing allies are hawkish and their attitudes are not conducive to peace. Illegal settlements in the West Bank will be expanded at a greater pace and this would eat into the Palestinian territories even further. An independent Palestinian state will never be achieved because of illegal Israeli settlements which would make the Palestinian state non-viable. It is the Likud grand plan to bluff the Palestinians into a false belief of achieving a Palestinian state. How this can be achieved with parallel illegal settlement expansion in the territories is anybody’s guess.

Now Syria is moving towards a form of compromise with the US and Israel even though this movement is very tentative at this stage. It is also unpredictable. The slightest move by Israel towards more uncompromising positions Likud-style could push Syria back into the Iranian camp from which it has not divested itself entirely if at all. Whatever Syria does, Lebanon will follow suit. Lebanon is still under Syrian influence and if Syria makes peace with Israel so will Lebanon. Lebanon has the added problem of Hezbollah which would strengthen its anti-Israel stance in line with Iran’s Ahmadinajad.

Much of the financial irregularities occurred when Olmert was mayor of Jerusalem. Nevertheless the moment these suspicions hang over his head like the sword of Damocles, it weakens his power in the eyes of the Israeli public and his ability to govern. His decision to resign was the correct one under these circumstances.

The biggest dangers facing Israel are the collapse of the peace talks with Syria even though they are indirect under Turkish mediation and the negotiations with the Palestinians despite the fact that the negotiations with the latter are only partial as Hamas has been excluded because of their inability to come to terms with Israel’s existence and cease their terror activities which they have put on hold at the moment under the cease-fire agreement.

Meanwhile, under Olmert there had been tentative movements towards some form of peace negotiations with the Palestinians even though it may not be representative of all the Palestinians because Gaza under Hamas is out of the negotiation picture entirely.

We have no reason to believe that new elections will bring in a new government more amenable to peace with the Palestinians. Rather the contrary is possible. The Likud’s agenda is peace with the Golan Heights and large tracts of Palestinian land under Israeli occupation.

This would be disastrous for Israel and it would give the illegal settlers legitimacy to expand and destroy the two-state solution. The abuse of Palestinians by the illegal loutish settlers will continue and the incidents like those that occurred in the southern Hebron district will continue. Under the Likud, the settlers will gain an ally more sympathetic to settlement expansion.

An Israeli occupation army soldier earlier this month shot from a close range and injured a handcuffed and blindfolded Palestinian detainee, an Israeli human rights group revealed Sunday.

According to B’tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the incident took place on 7 July, in Nil’in, a village in the central West Bank.

Palestinians and foreign peace activists hold regular and mostly non-violent protests against the confiscation by Israel of private Palestinian land for the construction of the “Separation Wall,” the gigantic barrier Israel is building in the area.

Vast swaths of Palestinian farms, orchards and groves have been seized by Israel under the pretext of building the wall, most of which is built deep in the West Bank far away from the so-called Green Line, the former armistice line between Israel proper and the occupied Palestinian territory.

What will happen after Olmert is anybody’s guess. There is no room for much optimism as the swing of the electorate will be towards the right and this means further human rights abuses against the Palestinian population.

The Prisoner Exchange and the Coffins

The scenes of tragedy visible on TV screens of two coffins draped with Israeli flags that passed the Lebanese border left all of us feeling helpless, identifying, and sympathizing with the Regev and Goldwasser families of the two dead soldiers. Thoughts running through my mind at that moment were thoughts of remorse for Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, an evil and charismatic manipulating leader of Hezbollah. The Hezbollah organization of Shiite Islamist extremists hate Israel so much that it perceives Israelis, not as humans but as monsters. The rules of war do not apply in the Hezbollah psyche. Even in war, there are rules concerning treatment of prisoners-of -war that are observed as stipulated in the Geneva Convention. As Hezbollah does not represent Lebanon but is a worrisome entity within Lebanon that operates independently, it does not have any obligation to keep any international agreements or uphold the Geneva Convention on treatment of abducted soldiers. Hezbollah does not even give a thought to any human aspect at all. THEY ARE BARBARIANS WITH NO HUMAN COMPASSION!!!!

The psychological torture that the evil Nasrallah and his creeps have caused the Goldwasser and Regev families is cruelty at its worst. His manipulations and his despicable rhetoric portray this beastly human being at the height of his power. He knew that the two kidnapped soldiers were dead after they were attacked by Hezbollah terrorists two years ago. He made cruel and caustic remarks conducting himself in a fashion befitting the lowest form of bestial behaviour. He played along using his psychological, sadistic mannerisms of deception. This filthy beast of deception is a coward! He is “brave” sitting in his bunker, fearing for his existence and leaves his bunker rarely. He has no human feelings. His whereabouts are unknown. He knows that his days are numbered and he will be annihilated eventually. He is prolonging his life by hiding in his stinking bunker. He comes up for air, welcoming child murderers as heroes. It is hard to believe that this notorious beast has any love even for his own people. He is a puppet of the evil Ahmadinajad regime of Iran. The Lebanese People, who have suffered so much, have no great love for Nasrallah and his evil Hezbollah. They are responsible for so much of the bloodshed and human suffering in Lebanon as well as the anarchy reigning there.

Nasrallah exhibited his “bravery” to welcome the child murderer, Samir Kuntar, whose claim to fame was murdering a four year old child by striking her head with the butt of his rifle until she was killed in 1979. What a hero he is in the eyes of the Hezbollah thugs! This murderous beast was exchanged for the coffins of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. For 105 weeks, the Goldwasser and Regev families were kept in the dark as to the fate of their sons. This is so despicable and cruel! It just illustrates what kind of barbarians Hezbollah with its leader Nasrallah really are. They are fascists devoid of any compassion for the human condition. Do they feel that by their despicable act, they will weaken the resolve of decent human beings all over the world to condemn this kind of behaviour? They will not harm Israel, on the contrary, they will strengthen Israel and with it they will destroy any hope for a rapprochement between Israel and Lebanon.

The scenes of jubilation in Beirut at child murderer Kuntar’s release was a macabre spectacle illustrating the height of barbarianism that segments of the Lebanese people are capable. He was paraded in battle fatigues. Kuntar “fought a great battle” by killing an innocent 4 year old child in such a brutal fashion.

Nasrallah knew that the only way he could hit Israel is by kidnapping its soldiers, killing them and keeping up the great lie by not giving out information as to their fate. In this way he could exact a very high price for dead soldiers and prolonging the cruelty for a long time. Israel has no solution for this kidnapping tactic.

Even in Gaza, there were celebrations by Hamas supporters for the release of Samir Kuntar. It is a case of the enemy of my enemy is my friend. This is what cultivates the relationship between Hamas and Hezbollah. There is no great love between Hamas and Hezbollah. The former is Sunni while the latter is Shiite. These two sects in Islam are not on good terms and this is bound to influence the relationship between the two groups in the future. Today, their common hate for Israel unites them. This means that Israel will be very cautious in its dealings with Hamas so that they can achieve the release of Gilad Shalit who is being held in captivity by Hamas in Gaza. To add insult to injury Nasrallah has made a cynical offer to act as mediator to gain Gilad Shalit’s release. What lies in his mind with his “defensive strategy”, as he puts it, is anybody’s guess. Israel has rejected his “offer” outright. Israel reportedly declined Nasrallah's overtures from a desire not to raise Nasrallah's status in the Arab world. Nasrallah garnered intense media attention Wednesday, promising to make address Israel and the West during the celebrations planned to mark Kuntar's release. He did make a brief public appearance, his first since January, and appeared ill at ease. He knows that with every public appearance his life is endangered.

The whole scenario of the prisoner exchange for two coffins was a tragedy and it gave the Hezbollah a reason to celebrate its success. Unfortunately, there was no other way out for Israel in this exchange. Israel’s soft underbelly is its susceptibility to enemy abductions of its soldiers and while there is no effective means at Israel’s disposal to prevent this from occurring in the future, it will remain an effective weapon to extract from Israel a very high price in negotiations for the release of abducted Israeli soldiers whether they are dead or alive.

The Occupation and the Erosion

The story of the occupation is well known and I have written about it many times in my articles. The euphoria of Israel after the Six Day War of 1967 when it captured the West Bank, Eastern Jerusalem, Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights is also well documented. However 41 years of occupation has eroded Israeli society and made many of us aware of many abuses that are occurring because of the “humane” Israeli Army treatment of the Palestinians over the years. Human rights groups (international human rights groups as well as Israeli groups) are providing evidence of human rights abuses regularly.

Israelis have always been proud of the “humaneness” of their army. On closer examination, when the incidents of army abuses and Israeli whitewashing of these incidents become evident, there is not very much of which to be proud.

The time is overripe to come to terms with the fact that the occupation is corrupting Israeli society beyond its limits. Israel claims that it does not wish to colonize another people (the Palestinians) but in practice this is what they are doing. Evidence of this is so widespread that it cannot be denied anymore.

The encouraging of illegal settlements in captured territories is ample proof of Israel’s intentions to colonize the Palestinians and rule over them. The claim of a “humane occupation” is a total paradox. An occupation can never be humane, especially when the intention is to take over Palestinian lands and encourage Israeli settlements. This occurred at the expense of another people. How can one build Israeli settlements ‘humanely” while displacing the Palestinian population and then talk about a “humane occupation”? Naturally this also means expanding existing illegal settlements because of natural population growth, displacing more Palestinians in the process.

It is absurd to believe that Israel has no desire to colonize the Palestinians when in practice the evidence points to the contrary. If this assumption were true, Israel would never have encouraged illegal settlements in territories captured during the Six Day War of June 1967. It should have kept the territories as a bargaining chip that would be returned to the Palestinian people under a peace agreement. It would not have been necessary to uproot a single settler as none would have been there.

Unfortunately, this was not the case, and here both sides must bear the blame for what had happened. The Khartoum Resolutions of 1^st September, 1967 “no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with it, and insistence on the rights of the Palestinian people in their own country” was the attitude of the Arab states then. It also resulted in Israel’s attitude towards colonizing the occupied territories by encouraging settlement. The Israeli leadership felt that if this was the Arab attitude, they had the right to annex the territories and encourage Jewish settlement there as there was no partner for peace negotiations after the Six Day War. Time proved that this was a disastrous decision on Israel’s part and resulted in the establishment of illegal settlements and further usurpation of Palestinian lands. The Israeli leadership had made impulsive decisions that had backfired. This also resulted in the subsequent War of Attrition, Yom Kippur War of October 1973, the 1987 Intifada and the more serious 2000 Intifada with its tragic spate of suicide bombings and widespread retaliations resulting in severe bloodshed on both sides.

There is no doubt that the occupation with its illegal settlements has harmed Israel’s stature in the world. Israel holds onto the territories by force. Palestinian human rights in the territories have been curtailed and cases of army abuses against the Palestinian population only aggravate the situation.

The occupation affects everybody, Israelis as well as Palestinians. It affects the Israeli psyche by resulting dehumanizing the Palestinians as a people. Many Israelis view the Palestinians as beasts who are only interested in killing Israelis whenever the opportunity arises. They see the Palestinians as potential terrorists waiting to strike and to destroy Israelis wherever they can.

The Palestinian views the Israeli as a gun toting soldier who is waiting to abuse him and beat him up. Contact between the two peoples on a human level has now reached a minimum and this is a very sad state of affairs. It is almost impossible for Palestinian and Israelis to meet and get to know one another.

Yeshayahu Leibowitz, a professor at Hebrew University and a leading Israeli intellectual--who was also an observant Jew--stated that Israel must immediately withdraw from the occupied territories. He argued that the occupation was unjust and would inevitably lead to the oppression and subjugation of the Palestinians, and to the corruption if not destruction of Israeli society. Until his death in the mid-1990s, he continued to criticize the occupation, using piercing, prophetic language to condemn the immorality of Israeli policies. For years, Leibowitz also averred that if 500 reservist soldiers would simultaneously refuse to serve in the territories, the occupation would end. He also stated that the Israeli Army run the risk of becoming Judeo-Nazis because of the occupation. In order to maintain the occupation, the army has to use force and introduce tough measures against the Palestinian population. This means check posts, humiliating house searches, abuse of power and the destruction and confiscation of Palestinian agricultural land for Jewish settlement. This is a long way from the “humane occupation”.

While the occupation remains unchanged, the chances of the establishment of an independent Palestinian state will never occur. If anything, it brings the reality of a binational state closer to fruition, despite Israeli denials to the contrary. It also does not benefit Israeli society as the occupation becomes more entrenched. It will only exacerbate the hatred between the two peoples even further and Israel stands the chance of becoming an amoral and corrupt society. Signs of this are already occurring in the government as the cruel occupation remains in place despite the cosmetic handshakes at various summit meetings between the Israeli and Palestinian leadership that consists of two very weak and ineffectual leaders weighed down by their own personal problems.

Israel’s Future Survival

Israel is writhing over the exchange of Gilad Shalit, the kidnapped soldier held in Gaza by Hamas. The price is the exchange of Palestinian prisoners “with blood on their hands”. A similar scenario is taking place in the north involving the release of the terrorist, Samir Kuntar, (held for the 1979 murder of Israeli civilians in Nahariya, four Hezbollah fighters captured during the Second Lebanon War in 2006, and the remains of dozens of Lebanese buried in Israel), for Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser, the two soldiers kidnapped by Hezbollah who are feared dead. Israel’s moral fiber is showing signs of cracking.

Now the referral of Israel as a Jewish state, which was understood without undue emphasis, has become an issue that has been bandied about, not only by Israel’s enemies, but also by its supporters. Is this because of atrocities that Israel is carrying out in the occupied territories against the Palestinians? The fact that existing illegal settlements are expanding under the guise of natural population growth creates tremendous hardships for the Palestinians. This means that increasing the number of settlements will result in less land being available for the establishment of a viable Palestinian State alongside Israel. In the end the creation of a Palestinian state will become a myth. This will result in movement towards the establishment of a binational state. Israel cannot have it both ways. It cannot continue the occupation of Palestinian lands captured after the 1967 Six Day June War and at the same time pay lip service to an independent Palestinian state while the occupation expands.

The illegal settlement expansion is continuing under the watchful eye of the Israeli Army. This gives rise to more roadblocks, more humiliating body searches of Palestinians and further difficulties for them. Their agricultural lands will be divided even further to make way for settlement expansion as well as the establishment of more Jewish settlements. In order to maintain this intolerable situation, human rights of Palestinians living in the occupied West Bank will be eroded even further. How does this fit in with Israel’s claim of being a moral democratic state emphasizing its Jewishness, and with it, Jewish values? Cracks are appearing in the future survival of Israel as a moral Jewish state.

In an article, “Israel’s Split Psyche” by Prof. Carlo Strenger in Haaretz of 2^nd July 2008, many questions are raised. He mentions that the Labor Party MK, Avishay Braverman, who was addressing the Institute of National Security Studies annual State of the Nation conference, made the following statement:

“Our education system, once Israel's pride, is in the dumps; public corruption is rampant; our universities are starving to death; and the income gap is almost as bad as Brazil's”.

He wrote that Braverman’s statements “reflect a general malaise that pervades Israel's public mood. For the first time in Israel's history, skepticism about its viability, worries about its public norms, and questions about whether it will still exist in 50 years creep through society and the media. This is puzzling: Israel was in much greater external danger in the past, and its economic and military resources are more developed today than ever before”.

On the one hand, Israel claims to accept and respect the moral principle of universal human rights. On the other hand Israel causes suffering to millions of Palestinians on the West Bank because of the settlements that are expanding not to mention the loss of income and unemployment as a result. This is unjustifiable and yet Israel turns a blind eye. Israeli cries of "There is no partner" or "The roadblocks are needed to prevent terror attacks" or "Look what happened when we left Gaza! We left, and all we get is Qassam attacks!" is a sop to their conscience and in the Israeli view, justifies settlement expansion.

There is no doubt that the settlements in the West Bank have created a situation that has made the lives of the Palestinians intolerable, whether it is check posts, road blocks, or separation fence that divides Palestinian farm lands. Movement for Palestinians in the West Bank is an exercise in resilience and endless suffering - all for the sake of protecting right-wing religious Zionist fanatics, many of whom are ex-patriot US freaks. They build themselves palaces on Palestinian lands while their Palestinian neighbours live in poverty. They are the stimulus for promoting hatred of Israel because of their illegal building habits according to international law.

The settlements in the occupied territories are eroding Israel’s moral fiber and are destroying the idea of the establishment of a future viable Palestinian state. It is not serving Israel’s security interests as it is a catalyst for further Palestinian hate of Israel. The roadblocks, expropriation of Palestinian lands for Israeli settlements increases Palestinian hardships by making travel for them an exercise in endurance. At the same time, Israel builds high class freeways for connecting the various settlements forbids Palestinians from using these freeways. It is no wonder that many Palestinians are convinced that Israel does not want to make peace with them.

If Israel behaves in this way, showing lack of sensitivity towards Palestinian hardships while ensuring the settlers’ good quality of life at Palestinian expense, peace and coexistence between the two peoples will never be achieved.

Israel’s survival as a moral entity in the Middle East can only be assured if the settlements in the West Bank are uprooted and the settlers resettled in Israel. The lands must be returned to the rightful owners – the Palestinian people. This will pave the way for an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.

The alternative is to leave the situation as it is which will result in the demise of Israel and the eventual establishment of a binational state in the future. These are the only two options that Israel has. There is no third option. The settlers will create a situation whereby Israelis become citizens of a binational Israeli-Palestinian state.

The Egyptian Brokered Cease-fire between Israel and Hamas

The cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has been signed under Egypt’s brokerage after much haggling. It is difficult to ascertain at this stage whether it is a positive development or not. Israelis have mixed feelings about its success because Hamas is not prepared to negotiate a permanent peace treaty with Israel or recognize Israel’s right to exist. The cease-fire could be a tactic allowing Hamas to re-group and re-arm in order to carry out another round of terrorism against Israel. However, despite these misgivings, it is a welcome development and while there is calm, both sides – Israelis as well as Palestinians, benefit from cessation of active hostilities against each other.

The constant firing of rockets into Sderot and its environment have ceased and Israeli retaliations have come to a halt as well. In practical terms, lives are saved on both sides. Surely this in itself is a positive development. People on both sides are able to get on with the business of carrying on with their daily lives. The residents of Sderot can come out of their shelters without worrying about when and where the next Qassam will fall and the people of Gaza do not have the fear of Israeli Air Force planes flying overhead, pursuing a Hamas terrorist group and hitting a crowd of innocent people by mistake resulting in unnecessary bloodshed. A cease-fire, for whatever reason, is always a positive development for both sides as lives are saved. The big question is whether this cease-fire will last or whether there will be a renewal of the hostilities in a very short time. Both sides are skeptical as to whether this cease-fire will hold.

There are some signs that the cease-fire may hold if one were to examine the statements of Palestinian parliament member and Hamas' spokesman in the Gaza Strip, Salah al-Bardawil. He seems a bit more upbeat about the cease-fire. "Nothing is impossible," he maintains. "The Arab world has already outstretched its hand for peace with the Israelis in the past," he says. "The ideas of Ahmed Yassin [Hamas' founder and former leader], who supported a cease-fire for some 15-20 years, focused on peace, not war. Hamas people who insist that there will never be peace with Israel do so because they are skeptical about the intentions of Israel's leadership. Everyone on your side is saying that the hudna [truce] is an opportunity for Hamas to narrow the military gap, but it's actually a historic opportunity for Israel and for all the sides involved to live in peace, and to build a future for the next generations."

According to a report in Haaretz, 20^th June2008, Bardawil said in a telephone conversation "After years of fighting, each side has doubts about the other side's seriousness in upholding the cease-fire. Your side says that the small factions are liable to blow it to pieces, but they have all pledged to abide by it. Experience shows that when Hamas commits to something, it makes sure to keep its promises." He continues, "Today, the relations between Israel and Hamas are those of enemies, but during past negotiations between Hamas and Fatah we agreed on 'the national reconciliation agreement,' which declares that the Palestinian state will be established within the 1967 borders. Israel mustn't pass up such an agreement with Hamas - otherwise an ideology more extreme than Hamas will be the result. Israel has to understand that nowadays, Hamas is a factor that balances the radical and out-of-control voices in both the Arab and the Muslim world." This may be a minute sign of optimism from a spokesman of Hamas that the cease-fire may hold despite the skepticism in both the Israeli and Palestinian camps.

On the other hand, the peace and quiet could gather momentum by alleviating the tough economic situation and suffering in Gaza and be a positive development for Israel as well. It would have the following implications: (a) the easing of the closure on the Gaza Strip thus allowing not only essential supplies to enter Gaza but also materials that allow the Gazan economy to gradually return to some kind of normality; (b) greater efforts to prevent weapons from entering the Gaza Strip from Egypt for use against Israel; (c) progress on the prisoner exchange deal for the release of Gilad Shalit, the IDF soldier who next week will mark two years of being held in Gaza. Meanwhile the London-based 'al-Sharq al-Awsat' reported on Saturday 21^st June 2007, that Israel's refusal to release 30 prisoners is the only remaining point of contention in the negotiations to free Shalit.

Unfortunately the ingredients for maintaining the calm are not visible at this stage. Hamas still does not recognize Israel’s right to exist in theory but in practice the leadership has hinted that it does. The fact that Hamas agreed to the cease-fire with Israel means that it de facto accepts Israel’s right to exist. If it did not it would not agree to the six month cease-fire with an option of its extension. This may indicate a small step on the part of Hamas in recognizing Israel’s right to exist despite many misgivings.

According to Asharq Alawsat, 21^st June 2007, Israel is concerned with compromise as it has nothing to lose from it. But the question here is: can Hamas’ indirect negotiation with Israel through Egypt be considered a truce or is it one of Hamas’ new tricks striving for more talks and agreements? It became clear that Hamas does not care about Palestinian suffering inasmuch as it as wanted to accomplish gains for the movement itself.

Hamas wants to kill a number of birds with one stone. Mishal and his group want to improve ties with the Egyptians after the Rafah crossing crisis and to alleviate the uneasiness that exists amongst the second rank of Hamas leaders because of the deteriorating situation in Gaza after the Palestinian Authority was overthrown.

One hopes that the cease-fire will also include a deal whereby the kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit is released. The Israeli government has not done enough to ensure his release. No price is too high to release a captured Israeli soldier even if it means releasing Palestinian prisoners with blood on their hands. The Israeli Army had been careless and this had resulted in Gilad Shalit’s kidnapping. It is easy for the Israeli government to talk about the high price and to hesitate. Do they intend to abandon Gilad Shalit because the price for his release is too high? The way the situation is now, it seems that a tragedy of his abandonment by the Israel government is about to unfold. The beleaguered Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, has made some rather disturbing statements to Gilad Shalit’s parents that show total lack of sensitivity and is far from encouraging or supportive. Noam Shalit, Gilad’s father, says he does not feel that anyone in the cabinet is agonizing over his suffering. This should resonate loudly. He said the prime minister told him that "he had no contract that obligates him to release any citizen from captivity," referring to Noam's son, the abducted soldier Gilad Shalit. This too evokes grave thoughts.

The evasive response of the prime minister's bureau - "We have no desire or intention to get into a public confrontation on this matter" - does not exempt the prime minister from the responsibility not only to bring Shalit home, but also to treat his anxious parents properly. I wonder how Olmert would react had he been the father of a son kidnapped by Hamas in Gaza. Would he be so flippant? It seems that the Palestinian prisoners crowding Israel’s prisons is more important rather than freeing Gilad Shalit who has to pay the price for Israel’s folly.

Is Zionism good for Israel?

This is an open -ended question – perhaps a provocative question! Zionism is a movement promoting the return of Jews to Israel and rebuilding it. Today Zionism has lost its relevance. An ideology that is very much alive in the Diaspora can be found in the smoke-filled living rooms of wealthy Jewry, who do not even intend to make the move to Israel. They are the diamond-studded Zionists who are involved in lavish fund raising parties for causes that are often negative towards Israel’s well being. The sponsors are not aware of it due to naivety or burying their jewel-bedecked necks in the sand.

The causes that are supported by these souls are causes that are concerned with furthering Israel’s occupation and maintaining the racist right wing settler movements in the occupied territories. These settlers are imbued with a religious Zionist fanaticism that is bent on destroying Palestinian agricultural lands and forcing Palestinians out of their homes to make way for Jewish settlement. The diamond-studded Zionists of the US are supporting this insidious Zionism. This is the Zionism that the Palestinians view as mainstream and as a form of racism which undoubtedly it is.

The collection of funds at these Zionist extravaganza affairs in the US somehow portrays the opulence of the wealthy Jewish sympathizers of Israel. The “who’s who” in wealthy Zionist bodies seeks the honour and a photo opportunity to show their presence. They want press exposure at almost any price. While in Israel, there is almost no mention of World Zionist Congress activities in the local press. The average, secular Israeli is not concerned with Zionism which further proves its irrelevance today. People who need Zionism are Jews who seek an ideal identity with Israel. This is the Israel of their dreams. The reality is different.

These wealthy Zionists also use their money to influence Israeli politics. They give much money to Israeli political parties for their election campaigns. This is despicable! It has also created a problem with PM Ehud Olmert and his “godfather” Morris Talansky who had been giving money to him in the form of loans for his mayoral campaigns, luxury hotel bills, cigars and who knows what else. He footed the bills for Olmert’s high living expenses on his visits to the US.

Today wealthy American Zionists try to interfere in Israel’s internal affairs. Money talks, and much money talks incessantly. This is neither in Israel’s interests nor in the interests of peace with the Palestinians. Money could better serve the interests of peace between Israel and its Palestinian neighbours. Instead of financing corrupt Israeli political parties, the funds could be diverted to encourage joint Israeli-Palestinian peace projects which are positive for both peoples who are unable to cease the cycle of violence. So much could be done to improve the standard of living of Palestinians including the creation of jobs. Instead, Zionist fundraising is used to perpetuate a society whose face is towards the continuation of the occupation rather than moving towards a two state solution or a binational state solution depending on what the people desire.

The more money that wealthy Zionists donate the more corruption in high places occurs. Many of these “charities” or “good causes” do not help Israel at all. They are a salve to the conscience of the armchair wealthy Zionists in the Diaspora. If the monies were channeled into improving the living standards of Palestinians in the occupied territories, extremist Palestinian terrorist groups would not have the fertilizer of hate to carry out terrorist activity. Funds should never be donated to partisan Israeli politics to maintain the high standard of living of party political hacks of which there is no shortage.

Most Zionists will disagree. They will say that it is the responsibility of the Arab states to help the Palestinians and alleviate their suffering. Reality does not allow money from Arab countries to enter Israel for the purpose of Palestinian rehabilitation. Israel is still technically at war with most of its Arab neighbours with the exception of Egypt and Jordan. It would not allow money from Arab countries to reach the Palestinians for fear that it would be used to promote terrorist activity. If this is the case, the onus lies on Israel to improve conditions for the Palestinians because they are the occupiers. In other words, the Palestinians under occupation have become Israel’s responsibility. Israel squandered much money on the occupation and encouraged illegal settlements at the expense of Palestinian suffering which deteriorated even further.

The fund raising activity of Diaspora Zionists does not even reach Israelis (Jewish and Arab citizens alike) who are poverty stricken or who are under stress. Is this kind of Zionism good for Israel?