Category: Politics

Posted on

Did France Get The Memo?

Imagine this news story:

“Last week, Israel convened representatives of 20 countries from across the world for an international conference to discuss what to do about the escalating security situation in France.

“‘Israel has no vested interest but is deeply convinced that if we don’t want to let the ideas of the Islamic State group prosper in this region, we must do something,’ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said when asked why he was pushing for the conference despite France’s vehement protests. Netanyahu put special emphasis on the fact that ‘the international community feels there is an urgent need to find a solution to the spread of Islamic State in Europe, especially in France, which has the largest Jewish population on the continent.’

“‘We are not giving up, and neither are our partners,’ said the Israeli prime minister.

“Discussions at the meeting will be based on a new groundbreaking peace proposal under which France will give up large swathes of the south of France as well as the entire Ile-de-France in return for a permanent peace agreement with Islamic State in order to create ‘a just solution’ to the conflict. An Islamic State spokesman told reporters that unlike the French, they welcome the Israeli initiative.

“‘We wish Israel and its efforts success because the Israeli efforts are the only ones on the ground now, and could eventually result in giving the political process a good push forward at this stage,’ the Islamic State spokesman said.

“‘The aim of the conference is to prepare an international summit in the second half of 2016, which would include French leaders and leaders of Islamic State. The second conference would take place ‘sometime in the fall,’ said a spokesman for Netanyahu.”

Of course, the above scenario is fake. I have produced it here merely to make a point. Israel is not convening any conferences on the future of France, nor is it meddling in its affairs. There is a principle of international law called sovereignty, but in France and the rest of the European Union, that principle has been gradually usurped by a new principle, that of supra-nationalism.

Unfortunately, and despite the fact that Israel is not a member of the European Union, France and company appear to be unrelenting believers in the extension of this principle all the way across the Mediterranean to the Middle East.

What is not fake, however, is that this exact scenario is indeed taking place, but instead of Israel hosting a conference about France’s out-of-control problems with Islamist terrorism, which are indeed affecting French Jews in the most appalling ways, France is hosting a conference about the future of Israel’s territorial borders.

Thus, despite Israel’s protests, France has convened an international conference for May 30, consisting of ministers from 20 different countries who will presume to lord it over Israel’s future. Clearly, France and company did not get the memo about decolonization, or rather France and company seem just fine with exhibiting colonial behavior toward only one nation in the entire world, namely obstinate Israel, which still refuses to dance to the tune of the Europeans.

While the aim of the French initiative is to “encourage” bilateral negotiations, let no one be fooled: This is really about pushing an agenda down Israel’s throat, namely that of the 2002 Saudi peace initiative, which asks nothing less than Israel’s withdrawal to the 1949 armistice lines and a “just” solution to the refugee issue without specifying what that means.

In other words, the initiative makes very serious demands on Israel concerning its existential issues, while being extremely shady on what Israel is supposed to receive in return. Also why drag this long-dead rabbit out of the old hat now, when the Palestinians have shown no sign whatsoever of letting up in the terror war against Israeli civilians and soldiers through ramming, stabbing and shooting attacks? All this conference does is reward terrorism.

What is, of course, conspicuous, is the timing. It is scheduled at a time when Europe is coming apart at the seams with the terror threat from Islamic State and the infighting in the European Union between the European Commission and the central and Eastern European members of the EU, whom the EU’s executive branch is threatening with huge fines for each migrant that these countries refuse to receive.

One cannot help but think that Israel, once more, is proving to be a very useful diversion (and scapegoat) for all the unrelated problems of the Western world.

Posted on

Trump, Israel, and the Need to Navigate the Global Chaos

Whether one likes Donald Trump or not, everyone agrees he has forever changed the landscape of American politics. The Donald’s scorched earth policy on his adversaries has not only worked to ensure he becomes the Republican nominee, it has upended the political and donor class of the US two party system.

No amount of will or force will be enough to give Americans what they crave.  The world has changed.

Americans have more or less opted to back a candidate who “will get things done,” rather than pay homage to the constitution and the framers’ vision of an exceptional nation.  The rest of the world has for many years seen things this way, yet for the US it has clung to a notion that it was different and special.  In truth, with spiraling debt, a waning military influence, and a generation of distracted spoiled youth, America may have in fact seen its best days behind it.  Of course this is what many out there, outside the beltway and big cities fear and this is exactly the type of fear Donald Trump draws his energy from.

No amount of will or force will be enough to give Americans what they crave.  The world has changed. The emerging economies of the East and Africa, coupled with innovation engines like Israel are changing the global dynamics overnight. It’s true Americans need a President that will get things done, but the Donald’s notion that one just needs to be a good manager and force a populist agenda will increase the chaotic downward spiral that American’s feel they are in.

 

Trump Ensures that Israel will Pivot Away from America

With Obama’s flip flopping on everything to do with foreign policy, especially when it comes to the Middle East, Israel has increasingly turned elsewhere for new partnerships.  Israel has grown closer to India and China as well as the Eastern African countries like Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Rwanda. Relations are growing with a host of Eastern European countries as well as former Soviet Block nations like Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan.

Israelis crave stability and the last few years has put a monkey wrench in their country’s desire to carve a stable environment for their economy and populace to thrive.  Obama’s weak foreign policy has thrashed old paradigms, while creating a host of new challenges.  Trump’s chaos is too much for many Israeli leaders and his ascendancy may well drive Israel further towards China and even Russia. In an environment with increased instability, the Israeli government finds itself in an unenviable position in having to decide on putting stock into an America in decline versus positioning itself as the most reliable country in the Middle East with a neutral foreign policy.

Trump’s rhetoric, although welcome by many in Israel after eight years of a post American foreign policy approach by Obama, is far too erratic and unbalanced to be trusted to force a re-calibration of America’s interests.  More likely it will help entrench those very forces Israel is now dealing with.

 

Surviving the Coming Chaos Requires a New Paradigm in Partnership Building

Whether we like it or not, the world seems bent on heading into a period of tremendous chaos and instability. Trump’s ascendancy is only part of the reason for this. Other reasons include increased technology usage in developing nations, Islamic fundamentalism, a rising East, an imminent EU collapse, as well as others.

The situation does not have to be dire. Israel needs to continue to build reliable partnerships with countries like India, China, and Kenya.

If we create a partnership between Israel’s inventive capability and China’s manufacturing capability, we will have a winning combination.

Increasing trade ties between China and Israel have now led to discussion concerning a free trade agreement. Already back in 2013 Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “Israel is not as big as China. We have eight million residents, approximately one-third the population of Shanghai. But we manufacture more intellectual property than any other country in the world in relation to its size. If we create a partnership between Israel’s inventive capability and China’s manufacturing capability, we will have a winning combination.”

Israel is seen by many in Sub Saharan Africa as a reliable military and trading partner, with budding relationships mimicking the same trajectory that occurred between Israel and India over a decade ago.

The government will have to figure out what to do about Russia.  They are not going away and Putin may be the best suited to help Israel put pressure on Hezbollah and Iran. Whether it is Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, Israel’s traditional geopolitical and economic relationships are permanently resetting. These newer partnerships Israel has been cultivating become an important part of creating a far more stable world order.

Posted on

Foreign Aid as a Form of Neo-Colonialism: Questioning the Integrity of Our Independence on Yom Ha’atzmaut

“We, politely referred to as ‘underdeveloped’, in truth, are colonial, semi-colonial or dependent countries. We are countries whose economies have been distorted by imperialism, which has abnormally developed those branches of industry or agriculture needed to complement its complex economy.”[1] – Ché Guevara

Over 70% of American aid received by Israel must be spent in the United States.[2] US aid to Israel is essentially an American government subsidy to its own arms industry. And similar to the situation in other developing countries, the aid we receive empowers Israel’s ruling class while stagnating our economy, keeping the proletariat impoverished and forcing the country into debt.[3] Israel doesn’t gain any financial benefit from American aid.

And one thing is clear – this is not freedom. Like in much of the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, an influx of Dollars and Euros often allows for easy exploitation masked behind a humanitarian facade. Foreign aid allows western governments to impose conditions on the recipient countries in exchange for the funding, which ultimately only increases the dependency and helplessness of the recipient nation.

In Israel, American aid has allowed foreign diplomats to meddle in Israeli politics and to influence the decisions of our democratically elected leaders. Economic aid has allowed Washington to pressure Israel’s government into banning Jewish construction in the Judea and Samaria, demolishing entire communities, and forcibly expelling all Jews from the Gaza region. It allows the United States to meddle in internal Israeli affairs in ways that ultimately advance their own geo-political (and often cultural) agendas.

Acceptance of American money also creates a problem unique to Israel. While most states that receive foreign aid are usually perceived as vulnerable and dependent, the money Israel receives only seems to strengthen the anti-Semitic notion that all-powerful Jews manipulate American policies or that Israel is a colonialist American proxy in the Middle East. The truth, of course, is that Israel is suffering from the same type of exploitation other developing nations experience as a byproduct of accepting aid. And only an increased awareness among Israelis for of how this money impacts our policies, economy, culture, and society can help us to smash our false image of being some kind of outpost of western civilization in the Middle East.

But foreign aid is not only harmful to Israel’s economy, a source of diplomatic leverage against our political leaders, or fodder for anti-Israel tropes depicting Jews as foreign invaders. By continuously accepting foreign aid we have also created a mental dependency that has imprisoned the thinking of our political leaders and blocked them from remaining loyal to our people’s authentic aspirations.

Most countries first define their interests and then seek out alliances with other nations that share those interests. Israel might be the only country that first defines who it wants an alliance with and then redefines its own national interests according to the agenda of that ally. The fact that so many Israeli leaders have actually attempted to make arguments for how surrendering our most cherished ancestral lands, not only the cradle of Jewish civilization but also the mountains overlooking our densest population centers, would somehow be beneficial to the State of Israel illustrates the depths to which they’ve fallen in their psychological subordination to Uncle Sam.

One of the major objectives of the Zionist revolution, as an expression of Jewish yearnings throughout the generations, has been the restoration of full political independence in our homeland. And while our people has regained a certain degree of independence, Israel is still far from true freedom. Only by confronting the truth about the aid we receive from the United States can we smash the psychological wall between our nation and its ancient dreams, so we can break free from the chains holding our revolution back and achieve the necessary political independence to advance our story forward.

[1] “Cuba: Historical exception or vanguard in the anticolonial struggle?” speech by Che Guevara on 9 April 1961

[2] Jeremy Sharp, U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel, Congressional Research Service, Washington, D.C., March 2012, p. 7.

[3] Zev Golan, A Tour of the Israeli Economy, Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies (IASPS), Jerusalem, 1998, pp. 3-4.

Posted on

Are American Jews Being Denied US Citizenship?

 

There is a pending court case set to break open systemic anti-semitism in the Department of State.  Typical US Citizenship policy enshrined in law makes it clear that children born to two US citizens abroad automatically become citizens of the United States themselves.  Section 301 (c ) of the INA (Immigration and Nationality Act) states that a child born to at least one United States Citizen are automatically citizens no matter where they are born in the world. The only stipulation is that at least one of the parents has ever resided the United States. No specific period of time for such prior residence is required.

A US policy shift starting 2007 ignores the law and has created a nightmare for Americans living outside the USA. With 85,000 US citizens in Israel, the policy change seems almost entirely directed at them. The policy, which is in conflict with the actual law, states that at least one parent must have been a permanent resident of the USA.

In 2011 the State Department actually revoked the citizenship of two children due to this policy and has since denied many more. After an appeal, a legal adviser to the Jerusalem consulate stated that in fact the children should be eligible for citizenship. Despite this the State Department overrode his opinion.

If the precedent is not changed, an incalculable amount of American Jews will be deprived their right to Citizenship at birth.

“For almost 10 years there has been an unconstitutional policy depriving American children of their citizenship. Although the law states a child born to 2 American citizens is automatically receives Citizenship at birth, countless children are being prevented, and some have even had their Citizenship revoked, their natural born rights,” Michele Wolgel, litigator for the case said. “This unlawful deprivation is specifically impacting American Jews born and living in Israel. If the precedent is not changed, an incalculable amount of American Jews will be deprived their right to Citizenship at birth.”

Is This Policy Really Directed at American Jews Living Abroad?

Although the policy remains agnostic in tone, most consulates abroad stick to the letter of the law, which seems to indicate that a day visit to the United States is sufficient for residency.  This is backed up by procedure, enshrined in American Citizenship policy for all embassies and consulates. Section 1133.3-1 of the U.S. Foreign Affairs Manual, which specifies that “No specific period of residence is required” in such a case.

In Israel, the American Jewish expat community is growing and highly influential. They also happen to be no friend of the State Department’s policy on Israel.  It does not take much to connect the dots on using a leftover policy from the Bush Administration to force a change in the relationship between American Jews and their new residence in Israel.

Posted on

UNRWA Honors Jerusalem Bus Bomber; US & EU Pay the Bill

On April 18 Abd al-Hamid Abu Spour, a 19 year old Palestinian Arab destroyed two public transportation buses in Jerusalem. There were numerous injuries, two of which remain hospitalized, one with severe burns.  This was the first bus attack during the 7+ month long intifada being waged against Israeli’s, which has resulted in at least 34 deaths to date.

The one person killed in the attack was the perpetrator himself. All Palestinian factions welcomed the attack. In the eyes of many Muslims, dying while committing a terror attack means Abu Spour is a “shahid,” or martyr for Allah.

His family has lashed out saying he acted in “self-defense,” and “only you Israelis are guilty.” Such inflammatory rhetoric while disturbing, is not unusual from many Arab Muslims.

However, in this case reaction to the attack has gone beyond the family. It has taken on an ‘official’ flavor.

On Monday, a week after the attack, a gathering took place at the UNRWA refugee camp in Aida, near Bethlehem. The location has a huge monument of a lock and key, symbolizing the defiant goal that the Palestinian Arabs will one day root out the Jews and take over the land they believe belongs to them.

The “festivities of the martyrs” event took place under the aegis of UNRWA (United Nations Relief Works Agency).  To think the official body representing the world’s community of nations is celebrating terrorism is bad enough. However, that is not the worst of it. The number 1 financial donor to UNRWA is the US, by far. The EU and UK are #2 and #3 in financial support. Their combined total represents over 50% of UNRWA’s donor support.

Virtually no media coverage

US & UK citizens should ask themselves how they feel about having their hard-earned taxes paying for events that honor terrorists.

Aside from this there is another troubling element to the UNRWA sponsored event.

One might think a public event honoring terrorism sponsored by a branch of the United Nations would be widely covered by the media. Yet, when it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflict most of the world’s media seems to come under a spell of double-standard. The abnormal becomes normal, the unacceptable turns into acceptable, and the victim is often seen as the bully.

There was virtually no media coverage of this publicly supported terrorist honoring event. One journalist- David Bedein who runs the Jerusalem based Israel Resource News Agency did send a crew to cover it. According to Bedein, the crew didn’t just cover the event; they are interviewing the family of the terrorist. Soon they plan to release a film that will be screened at a forthcoming session of the Middle East Subcommittee of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, when the debate on further US funds for UNRWA will be discussed.

On March 22, Bedein appeared in a closed session of that Middle East Subcommittee and suggested an UNRWA REFORM POLICY INITIATIVE formula as a new funding framework. This would make US financing for UNRWA contingent upon them taking concrete measures to assure transparency. It would also require a crackdown on UNRWA hosting terror entities in its midst, and the re-education UNRWA residents. Currently they are promised the “right of return” to villages that existed before 1948. The committee is chaired by Rep. Ilena Ros-Lehtinen (R) FL.

Senator Jim Risch (R- Idaho) chairman of the US Senate Subcommittee for the Near East, also met with Bedein in Washington. This week Senator Risch issued a statement that “we are looking to write a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to get them to update the audit of US monies that go both to UNRWA as well as funding for education related issues that the GAO had performed several years ago”.

Double-standard

Regarding media coverage, Bedein sent out a press release to over 600 journalists throughout Israel, informing them of the UNRWA event honoring the terrorist. Incredibly he received a reply from only one. This ‘yawn’ by the media is yet another disturbing reminder of the double-standard Israel receives from most of the world.

Picture this- Suppose there was an event held in the US at a public school, sponsored by the Dept. of Education (using taxpayer money) honoring the Muslim couple who murdered 14 people in San Bernardino last year? How much media coverage do you think there might be? Not only that, but those who were responsible for holding the event might be have some serious explaining to do, even in this era of political correctness.

Not so in the Arab-Israeli conflict where it appears the media seems to have largely taken up the narrative of the perpetrators of terrorism.

The US provides the Palestinian Authority over $400 million annually. Concern about the Palestinian educational system is growing in Congress.

US taxpayers have an opportunity to send a strong message opposing their tax money being used to honor terrorists who target innocent citizens of America’s strongest ally in the Middle East. They can contact the members of the Middle East Subcommittee in the House of Representatives, as well as the Near East Subcommittee in the Senate.

There is no moral equivalence between terror and justice. It’s high time the UN stop making an exception when it comes to Israel.