Category: Politics

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The Israeli Left’s “Come to Bibi Moment”

Abu Mazen, the head of the “Palestinian Authority”, gave a speech this past week that Prime Minister Netanyahu couldn’t have written better himself. (see here) In the speech, the palestinian dictator rejected any Jewish historical or religious claim to any part of the Land of Israel, personally insulted President Trump and the United States of America and made various threats. 3 for 3!

All this completely validates everything that Netanyahu has been saying about Abu Mazen and the rest of the “palestinian leadership” for years. Of course, its makes Obama and European leaders look ridiculously foolish. However, more importantly in Israel, how does the Left respond to such a speech? The new head of the Zionist Union, a so far politically peculiar individual, condemned the speech. But that’s not good enough. He must admit that his side of the political spectrum has simply been duped for many years. (Duped by violent terrorists, but nonetheless duped).

This should be a seminal moment for the Left. In terms of the palestinian leader and agenda – THEY HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY WRONG!

This is not such an important moment for the Right in Israel. Having an “I told you so” moment is always enjoyable. However, none of what Abu Mazen said in his speech is news to the Right and the Right still has very legitimate criticism to hurl at Netanyahu – Why so little development in Jerusalem (Givat HaMatos, Kidmat Tzion, Shimon HaTzadik)? Why such limited access to Jewish holy sites (Joseph’s Tomb, Joshua’s Tomb, “Shalom Al Yisrael” Synagogue in Jericho)? Why the lack of recognition of Jewish purchases in Hevron and Jewish property rights in historic Jerusalem? Why no official return to Homesh and Sa-Nur? E-1? E-2? The list goes on and on.

G-d willing, thanks to some solidly honest remarks by an evil terrorist despot, the entire spectrum of Israeli thought on issues vis-a-vis the palestinians should shift dramatically rightward. The Right should certainly up the pressure on the Government to act more aggressively and the Left should acknowledge their “Come to Bibi” moment.

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India’s Modi abandons legacy of Muslim appeasement

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has earned a deserved reputation as a no-nonsense opponent of appeasement.  His expansion of the India-Israel relationship and personal affinity with President Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu have strengthened that perception.  The latest evidence that it is more than a perception came this week, when Modi’s government discontinued half-century-old government subsidies provided to Muslim pilgrims going on the Hajj.  The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims must carry out at least once, so long as they are physically and financially able – artificial conditions that the subsidy is intended to create.

That’s right: the government of India has been spending badly needed funds for one religious community’s annual pilgrimage.  (There is even a special terminal in New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport exclusively for Hajj pilgrims, which is closed for most of the year.)  Since 2008, about 120,000 Muslims have utilized the government money to go on the Hajj, according to the Indian government, costing the Indian people almost a half-billion dollars in the last five years alone.  This money now will be used for educational purposes, especially for girls who have been particularly underserved in accordance with community practice.

According to minister for minority affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, “[t]his is part of our policy to empower minorities with dignity and without appeasement.”  Putting an end to Modi’s predecessors’ policies not only does that, but also reduces the role of big government in India, which has been another major element in the prime minister’s actions thus far.  As he promised to do both during and since the 2013 election that brought him his landslide victory, Modi’s conservative government is eliminating the wasteful spending by leftist opponents, which they often carried out to garner the large and largely united Indian Muslim vote.

Originally Published in American Thinker.

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99% of ‘Palestine refugees’ are fake

In the words of a veteran Washington hand, the problem of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the main U.N. agency dealing with Palestinians, is always important but never urgent.

Well, it just became urgent.

That’s because President Donald Trump tweeted, “With the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?”

 


 

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley added that the U.S. government is prepared to cut off funds to UNRWA. And, Axios reported, a U.S. payment of $125 million was not delivered (though that was later denied).

The American taxpayer is UNRWA’s largest donor, paying in $370 million in 2016. Few expenses would be more satisfying to cut from the federal budget, for UNRWA has a long record of misbehavior: incitement against Israel, supporting violent attacks on Jews, corruption, and perpetuating (rather than ending) the refugee problem. Not surprisingly, many attempts have been made in Congress to cut its funding. But, as Steven J. Rosen documented with regard to 10 initiatives in the years 1999 to 2014, every one of them ended in failure because of Israeli government opposition.

Because of what, you ask? Yes, contrary to what one might expect, the government of Israel wants continued U.S. payments to UNRWA, fearing that their termination might cause a new intifada, the collapse of the Palestinian Authority, or renewed warfare with Hamas. Also, Jerusalem sees UNRWA as a lesser evil than alternative recipients of the money, such as the PA.

Perhaps this time, with the president wanting funds to be stopped, that will happen? Not likely, because, as a news report from Israel indicates, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly endorsed an American cut, behind the scenes he seeks to block or slow down this move, and for the usual reasons. Should that be so, it’s hard to imagine the president and members of Congress ignoring his wishes, as they never have until now.

Even if U.S. funding to UNRWA ended, plenty of governments – and even individuals – could easily replace the $370 million, and have incentive to do so. Qatar could consolidate its role as protector of the Palestinians. Beijing could purchase a role at the heart of Arab politics. Moscow could reverse some of the damage of siding with Tehran. Carlos Slim, estimated by Forbes magazine to be worth $67.9 billion, could decide to burnish his Arab credentials. Worse yet, if any of them did fill the funding gap, the Trump administration would look ineffectual and isolated.

And even if no one replaced U.S. donations, denying UNRWA money does not get to the heart of the problem, which lies not in its sponsored activities, but in its perpetuating and expanding the population of “Palestine refugees” in three unique, even bizarre ways: allowing this status to be transferred without limit from generation to generation; maintaining the status after refugees have acquired a nationality (such as the Jordanian ones); and assigning the status to residents of the West Bank and Gaza, who live in the putative Palestinian homeland. These tricks allowed UNRWA artificially to expand the refugee population from 600,000 in 1949 to 5.3 million now. An accurate count of real refugees now alive is around 20,000.

Therefore, while enthusiastically endorsing Trump’s political goals, I suggest that withholding funds is not the right tactic. Better would be to focus on the “Palestine refugee” status. Denying this to all but those who meet the U.S. government’s normal definition of a refugee (in this case, being at least 69 years old, stateless, and living outside the West Bank or Gaza) diminishes the irredentist dagger at Israel’s throat by over 99%. It also puts the “Palestine refugee” status into play, permits millions of Palestinians to live more healthily, addresses the dank heart of Arab anti-Zionism, and helps resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Accordingly, I propose that the president adjust U.S. policy to work with Jerusalem and continue to send aid to Palestinians while making it contingent upon the overwhelming majority of recipients formally acknowledging that they are not now and have never been refugees.

The Middle East Forum, which has been working this issue since 2010, has proposed legislation to make such a shift. It is both simple and feasible, as it does nothing fancier than bring Washington’s relations with UNRWA into line with U.S. law and policy. About time.
Daniel Pipes (DanielPipes.org, @DanielPipes) is president of the Middle East Forum.
Originally Published in Israel HaYom
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NETANYAHU IN INDIA: “Israelis and Indians are bound by the kinship of free peoples.”

India and Israel continue to draw closer as Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu made a powerful speech at a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi.  Both India and Israel share a common threat with Islamic terrorism.  Yet, relations between Israel and India go back centuries as Jews enjoyed of freedom of religion for over two thousand years in the ancient Hindu country.

In modern times the two countries have had a rocky history, but a grass roots relationship has built over the last 2 decades which has finally expanded into the governments of both peoples.

Below is the Prime Minister’s speech in full as provided to us by the Government Press Office:

“Thank you my friend, Prime Minister Modi, Narendra. Thank you for your exceptional friendship and hospitality that you showed me, my wife, and our delegation. I was deeply moved today in the celebration at the ceremony. It was an expression not only of the honor you showed me but the honor you showed the people of Israel and the State of Israel. You are a revolutionary leader in the best sense of the word ‘revolution’. You are revolutionizing India. You are catapulting this magnificent state into the future and you have revolutionized the relationship between Israel and India.

I’m the son of a historian. Our peoples have had thousands of years of history. India and Israel are two of the most ancient civilizations on earth and yet it is an amazing fact that until you visited Israel no leader of India in 3,000 years of our own sovereign existence and our history has visited Israel. You are the first leader of a state, of an Indian state to do this. So it was a groundbreaking visit. It excited the imaginations of all Israelis and of course of the many Israelis of Indian descent, of origin, who came and were…how shall I say this…well I thought I was in a rock concert but it was a historic event as well.

We are ushering today a new era in our relations. We’ve had diplomatic relations for 25 years but something different is happening now because of your leadership and because of our partnership. There are three things that bind our countries together: The first is that we have an ancient past. The second is that we have a vibrant present. And the third is that we are seizing together a promising future. We are proud of our past, our rich histories, our peoples’ contributions to human civilization in language, in literature, in mathematics and medicine, in philosophy and faith. The greatest texts that human beings produced are in Sanskrit and in Hebrew. None greater and none more enduring and we never forget this.




More recently, you mentioned, just a century ago, brave Indian soldiers played a vital role in the liberation of the State of Israel and the land of Israel. This led to our Independence. And yesterday I was again deeply moved as we paid tribute to these brave Indian fighters and commanders who gave their lives in that historic fight. We honor their memory as you mark today Indian Army Day. We are proud of our present, of our resilient democracies. Our people are free to say what they want, do what they want, believe what they want and these values and our diversity are not a source of our weakness but the source of our strength. Evidence of this abounds in India where you hear a symphony of dozens of languages and dialects and where Jews, and you mentioned this yesterday Prime Minister, you mentioned the fact that makes India stand out in the community of nations because over 2,000 years the Jews of India have never experienced anti-Semitism as our people experienced in so many other lands. This is a tribute to your civilization, to your tolerance, to your humanity.

Israelis and Indians are bound by the kinship of free peoples but I believe that democracy cannot be taken for granted. Despite the doubts, despite the challenges, India and Israel are living proof not only that democracy works but they demonstrate something deeper – the intrinsic value of freedom which I believe is the intrinsic value of life. Citizens thrive ultimately it is the free citizens who thrive because they are free and when they are free.

Finally, we are proud that we are seizing the future so we can make a better life for our peoples and for others around the world. Our commitment to do so is reflected in the manifold agreements that we sign today in cyber, in aviation, in energy, even in cinema. My wife and I are very happy that we are going to Bollywood, we’d like to see it firsthand, and so many other areas.

Israel is a fountainhead of innovation. It’s a global force of technology. India abounds with creativity, with ingenuity, with scientists, with mathematicians and I think that when we join our respective talents together we can achieve tremendous things for our people. We can actually achieve…you say we want more…Prime Minister Modi and I are the same. We want more for our people, we want it now, we want it yesterday. But one of the things that Israel brings to this world of innovation is that we achieve more with less. More crops with less water, more energy with less expenditure of money. More with less. We want more, a lot more and we can do that even more productively by cooperating.

When you and I walked shoeless along the Mediterranean shore, we drank sea water that was purified before our eyes using technology that will save untold lives. India and Israel are working together to provide clean water, to increase crop yields, to keep our people safe from terrorism and other challenges to the future we both seek.

You mentioned the areas: Agriculture where I presented to Prime Minister Modi an idea of revolutionizing Indian agriculture as we’re revolutionizing Israeli agriculture – precision agriculture that goes down to the individual plant. Some plants need more water, some less. We can see it today with big data, with drones, with other instruments of technology to make farmers produce much more crops. More crops with less. We’re talking about cooperation in science and technology in every field and we’re talking about cooperation in defense so that our people are always safe and always secure.

Indians and Israelis know too well the pain of terrorist attacks. We remember the horrific savagery in Mumbai. We grit our teeth, we fight back, we never give in.

My friend last night you again showed us your tremendous hospitality and when you hosted Sara and me at your home so graciously it was brilliantly lit, illuminated by the national colors of India and Israel and I thought at that moment about your honesty, your passion, you vision, your commitment and it fills me with hope, hope that this new era of India-Israel relations will bring unprecedented benefits to India, to Israel, to all humanity.

And finally and this is perhaps the most important statement that I can make here – my friend Narendra, any time you want to do a yoga class with me it’s a big stretch but I’ll be there. Trust me.

Thank you very very much. Thank you my friend.”

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PM Netanyahu and his Wife Welcomed by Indian PM Modi at the Presidential Palace

(Communicated by the Prime Minister’s Media Adviser)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara, today (Monday, 15 January 2018), were welcomed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the presidential palace in an official ceremony that included an honor guard of more than 100 soldiers. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s vehicle received a mounted escort; the two countries’ national anthems were played.

Prime Minister Netanyahu:

“This is the dawn of a new era in the great friendship between India and Israel that began with Prime Minister Modi’s historic visit to Israel, which created tremendous enthusiasm. It continues with my visit here, which I must say is deeply moving for my wife and me, and for the entire people of Israel. And I think it heralds a flourishing of our partnership to bring prosperity and peace and progress for both our people.”

Following the ceremony, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his wife, along with Indian Prime Minister Modi, participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Raj Ghat memorial to the late Mahatma Gandhi. Prime Minister Netanyahu wrote in the guestbook: “Such grandeur and simplicity in honor of modern India’s founding father, one of the world’s greatest spiritual leaders.”