Thursday, March 12, 2015

The Opinions of Peres

by Delta Vines

The wail of sirens and the screams of children as Kassam rockets were shot into the Sderot area of Israel became a daily event for over five years. The need to hide and stay hidden in bomb shelters began lasting beyond a few hours a day, turning into weeks at a time.  It became less stressful to adapt to life inside the shelter; holding school classroom lessons inside the safety of the underground walls.  This was the legacy left by the latter part of the life of former prime minister Ariel Sharon.

Of the more recent candidates for prime ministers of Israel, Sharon seemed to be the most "hawkish".  He had fought in wartime for Israel's safety.  Several pundits posed that Sharon would fight off the Palestinians who attacked the citizens and soldiers in Israel.  Instead, Sharon negotiated away the Gaza Strip, and ordered the "disengagement", leaving hundreds of Israeli's homeless.  This, of course, was with the promise of peaceful negotiations - which never happened.

The person in charge of those negotiations was none other than Shimon Peres.  

Peres was also involved in the secret "unofficial" negotiations that went on with "unofficial representatives" of Yassir Arafat during the Oslo Accords* in 1993. At that time, Peres was the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs under former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. Those "unofficial negotiations" became official as the agreement was signed on the White House Lawn during the Clinton Administration.  

One of the conditions of the Oslo Accords was Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.  

This is a pattern of Shimon Peres - negotiate away Eretz Yisrael. 

Now the news is he has endorsed the Zionist Union party of Herzog and Livni in the prime minister election next week.  He and Livni have the same philosophy:  give up land in Israel in order to have peace.  One would think they have learned by now that giving up Israeli land does not lead to peace with the Arab/Palestinians.  

Contrarily, it has only led to more attacks against Jewish Israeli people, towns, and religious/historical sites. Joseph's Tomb was destroyed then made into a mosque, no one is allowed even now to pray on the Temple Mount except for Muslims; people praying at the Western Wall are subject to periodically having rocks thrown on them from the Temple Mount, only Muslims are allowed access to the tomb of Isaac at Machpelah in Hebron;  and even the Church of the Nativity is encroached upon by an adjacent mosque in Bethelehem.  

Non-compliance in the actions of the Palestinians and their leadership has led to the failure of Oslo I, Oslo II, and all attempted peace treaties since between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs.  This includes the Wye River Agreement in 1998 between Arafat and Netanyahu. At those negotiations Netanyahu included a "reciprocity" condition which stated that refusing any concessions until the PLO/PA complied on its part and stopped the attacks and violence.  Netanyahu has held to that condition in order to have a safe Israel before giving anything else despite UN criticism. Netanyahu learned from mistakes from previous leadership, as well as his own

Livni, like Peres, wanted once again to give the PA anything they wanted, for yet another promise of "peace".  Some people are slow learners.

Did they not learn from Oslo?





*The Oslo Accords included a total of six subsequent attempts to bring a stop to the violence despite Israeli concessions.  It's history worth reading .


Wednesday, March 11, 2015

An Appeal to the People of Israel

Dear People of Israel,

I do not have a habit of writing to a specific group of people as a general rule.  However, it is with a sense of urgency I do so now to the people of Israel.

You have an immediate important decision to make regarding the future of your country which you signify by your vote next week.  Simply put, the future of Israel depends upon how you vote.  

Every nation has it's economic and political issues.  Jobs, wages, and services are issues of great importance. After years of attacks by terrorists, to say the country of Israel is weary of such would be an understatement.  Yet, you are not alone in several issues.

Every country on the world stage is dealing with unemployment and staggering economies. They are also now painfully aware of the hatred and attacks against their lands by terrorists. However, It is not as Israel constantly faces. 

Their people are not attacked the world over because of their nationality and religion.  They do not face the desecration of cemeteries, the mockery and jeers, and the physical attacks no matter where they visit or live.  They do not face the constant pressure to give up their heritage and their land by several nations of the world.

Now you are faced with a decision to preserve your Jewish identity as well as your lives. Although the Labor Party has join with HaTnuah and changed their name to Zionist Union, it appears there is little "zionist" about them.  Do not forget how Tzipi Livni has in her various ministerial positions has taken steps to negotiate toward a "two state solution. As part of those negotiations Livni was willing to give away Yesha and Jerusalem.  She also has stated that she sees no problem with Iran.  Given the many times Israel has had missiles land within her borders from Hamas in Gaza...I would want a PM who would stand up against such aggression.

She and Herzog would rotate years with one being PM 2 years and the other one doing the remainder of the term. Both are very willing to concede with little negotiation a large amount of the land of Israel. An example of what that has lead to in Israel's past can be seen in Israel's giving up Gaza for peace.  But peace never happened.  Instead the Palestinians in Gaza voted for a government run by Hamas in their election.  

It is no surprise that Israel has been blamed for all the problems existing in the Middle East. ISIS is warring in Syria and Iraq. Boko Haram is active in it's murderous atrocities in nearby Africa, and Russia is at war with Ukraine.  Instead of focusing on one of those very dangerous areas, the US and others push for Israel to give up safe borders in order to have "peace".  Again, remember Gaza - and how that worked out for Israel.   With the Zionist Union candidates as prime ministers the result could be dangerous to the survival of Israel and it's residents.

No other Prime Minister has stood up for Israel in the way Benjamin Netanyahu has.  Even Sharon, with all his strength and bravado, signed over the Gaza Strip.  Netanyahu has been wise enough to insist on Arab acceptance of Israel being a "Jewish state".  He has stood firm on not accepting an Arab/Palestinian "right of return" which would mean anyone related to anyone who had lived in Israel prior to 1948 could demand land and housing.  That would essentially drive many Jewish Israeli's out of their homes.  Herzog and Livni would sign everything away, based on their previous performance.  To vote for them would be geographical suicide.

I plead with you, Israel, to vote for Likud, and your present prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.  To do so would mean you will still have a homeland - the land of Israel.

With love from the U.S., 

Delta Vines



Monday, March 02, 2015

PM Netanyahu AIPAC Speech (and Transcript)

by Delta Vines

The speech given to AIPAC by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu today was very impressive.  It was wonderful that the leaders from Spain, from Canada, and from the Czech Republic attended the speech - providing support to Netanyahu similar to how Aaron & Hur held up the arms of Moses while the Hebrews crossed the Red Sea.

Bibi personified grace under pressure as he shone a very good light on President Obama. This was despite the fact that the president and staff have been campaigning against the Israeli prime minister's speech to U.S. Congress.   P.M. Netanyahu was in a difficult situation:  to keep his word to House Speaker Boehner when he accepted the invitation.  More importantly, to the people of the world to expose the probable dangers the negotiations with Iran could produce.  With Israel literally the primary target for elimination by Iran, Netanyahu needed to speak up.

So, why speak before the U.S. Congress....of all countries with which to present his case?  1) Because Iran has not been shy in it's threats to Israel first, then to the U.S. whom they refer to as "the big satan".  2)  Because the United States of America is the least "Israel angry" and most "Israel friendly" in the world.  I'm speaking of the people of the United States as well as several in our Congress.  As Bibi mentioned in this speech regarding the U.S. - "we're practically mishpocha" (family).

It is my fervent prayer and hope that leaders involved in these negotiations will hear the truth of the dangers Iran poses to all of us; just as ISIS poses dangers to all of us.

______________________________________

Transcript

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the AIPAC Policy Conference
 Delivered on March 2, 2015

“Thank you. Wow, 16,000 people. Anyone here from California? Florida? New York?  Well, these are the easy ones. How about Colorado? Indiana? I think I got it. Montana?Texas?

You’re here in record numbers. You’re here from coast to coast,from every part of this great land.
And you’re here at a critical time. You’re here to tell the world that reports of the demise of the Israeli-U.S. relations are not only premature, they’re just wrong.

You’re here to tell the world that our alliance is stronger than ever.

And because of you, and millions like you, across this great country, it’s going to get even stronger in the coming years.

Thank you Bob Cohen, Michael Kassen, Howard Kohr and all the leadership of AIPAC. Thank you for your tireless, dedicated work to strengthen the partnership between Israel and the United States.

I want to thank,most especially, Members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans. I deeply appreciate your steadfast support for Israel, year in, year out. You have our boundless gratitude.

I want to welcome President Zeman of the Czech Republic .Mr. President, Israel never forgets its friends.  And the Czech people have always been steadfast friends of Israel, the Jewish people, from the days of Thomas Masaryk at the inception of Zionism. You know, Mr. President, when I entered the Israeli army in 1967, I received a Czech rifle.That was one of the rifles that was given to us by your people in our time of need in 1948. So thank you for being here today.

Also here are two great friends of Israel, former Prime Minister of Spain Jose Maria Aznar and as of last month, former Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird. Thank you both for your unwavering support. You are true champions of Israel, and you are, too, champions of the truth.

I also want to recognize the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, for your genuine friendship, Dan,and for the great job you’re doing representing the United States and the State of Israel.

And I want to recognize the two Rons. I want to thank Ambassador Ron Prosor for the exemplary job he’s doing at the U.N. in a very difficult forum.

And I want to recognize the other Ron, a man who knows how to take the heat, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Ron Dermer. Ron, I couldn't be prouder to have you representing Israel in Washington.

And finally, I want to recognize my wife, Sara, whose courage in the face of adversity is an inspiration to me.Sara divides her time as a child psychologist, as a loving mother, and her public duties as the wife of the prime minister.Sara, I’m so proud to have you here with me today, to have you with me at my side always.

My friends, I bring greetings to you from Jerusalem, our eternal undivided capital.

And I also bring to you news that you may not have heard. You see, I’ll be speaking in Congress tomorrow.

You know, never has so much been written about a speech that hasn’t been given. And I’m not going to speak today about the content of that speech, but I do want to say a few words about the purpose of that speech.

First, let me clarify what is not the purpose of that speech. My speech is not intended to show any disrespect to President Obama or the esteemed office that he holds. I have great respect for both.

I deeply appreciate all that President Obama has done for Israel,security cooperation, intelligence sharing, support at the U.N., and much more, some things that I, as prime minister of Israel, cannot even divulge to you because it remains in the realm of the confidences that are kept between an American president and an Israeli prime minister.I am deeply grateful for this support, and so should you be.

My speech is also not intended to inject Israel into the American partisan debate. An important reason why our alliance has grown stronger decade after decade is that it has been championed by both parties and so it must remain.

Both Democratic and Republican presidents have worked together with friends from both sides of the aisle in Congress to strengthen Israel and our alliance between our two countries, and working together, they have provided Israel with generous military assistance and missile defense spending. We've seen how important that is just last summer.

Working together, they've made Israel the first free trade partner of America 30 years ago and its first official strategic partner last year.

They've backed Israel in defending itself at war and in our efforts to achieve a durable peace with our neighbors. Working together has made Israel stronger; working together has made our alliance stronger.

And that’s why the last thing that anyone who cares about Israel,the last thing that I would want is for Israel to become a partisan issue. And I regret that some people have misperceived my visit here this week as doing that. Israel has always been a bipartisan issue.

Israel should always remain a bipartisan issue.

Ladies and gentlemen, the purpose of my address to Congress tomorrow is to speak up about a potential deal with Iran that could threaten the survival of Israel. Iran is the foremost state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Look at that graph. Look at that map. And you  see on the wall, it shows Iran
training, arming, dispatching terrorists on five continents. Iran envelopes the entire world with its tentacles of terror. This is what Iran is doing now without nuclear weapons. Imagine what Iran would do with nuclear weapons.

And this same Iran vows to annihilate Israel. If it develops nuclear weapons, it would have the means to achieve that goal. We must not let that happen.

And as prime minister of Israel, I have a moral obligation to speak up in the face of these dangers while there’s still time to avert them. For 2000 years, my people, the Jewish people, were stateless, defenseless, voiceless. We were utterly powerless against our enemies who swore to destroy us. We suffered relentless persecution and horrific attacks. We could never speak on our own behalf, and we could not defend ourselves.

Well, no more, no more.

The days when the Jewish people are passive in the face of threats to annihilate us, those days are over.Today in our sovereign state of Israel, we defend ourselves. And being able to defend ourselves, we ally with others, most importantly, the United States of America, to defend our common civilization against common threats.

In our part of the world and increasingly, in every part of the world, no one makes alliances with the weak. You seek out those who have strength, those who have resolve, those who have the determination to fight for themselves. That’s how alliances are formed.

So we defend ourselves and in so doing, create the basis of a broader alliance.

And today, we are no longer silent; today, we have a voice.And tomorrow, as prime minister of the one and only Jewish state, I plan to use that voice.

I plan to speak about an Iranian regime that is threatening to destroy Israel, that’s devouring country after country in the Middle East, that’s exporting terror throughout the world and that is developing, as we speak, the capacity to make nuclear weapons, lots of them.

Ladies and gentlemen, Israel and the United States agree that Iran should not have nuclear weapons, but we disagree on the best way to prevent Iran from developing those weapons.

Now disagreements among allies are only natural from time to time, even among the closest of allies. Because they’re important differences between America and Israel.

The United States of America is a large country,one of the largest. Israel is a small country, one of the smallest.

America lives in one of the world’s safest neighborhoods. Israel lives in the world’s most dangerous neighborhood. America is the strongest power in the world. Israel is strong, but it’s much more vulnerable. American leaders worry about the security of their country. Israeli leaders worry about the survival of their country.

You know I think that encapsulates the difference. I've been prime minister of Israel for nine years. There’s not a single day, not one day that I didn't think about the survival of my country and the actions that I take to ensure that survival, not one day.

And because of these differences, America and Israel have had some serious disagreements over the course of our nearly 70-year-old friendship.

Now, it started with the beginning. In 1948, Secretary of State Marshall opposed David Ben-Gurion’s intention to declare statehood.That’s an understatement. He vehemently opposed it. But Ben-Gurion,understanding what was at stake, went ahead and declared Israel’s independence.

In 1967, as an Arab noose was tightening around Israel’s neck,the United States warned Prime Minister Levi Eshkol that if Israel acted alone, it would be alone. But Israel did act — acted alone to defend itself.

In 1981, under the leadership of Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Israel destroyed the nuclear reactor at Osirak. The United States criticized Israel and suspended arms transfers for three months. 

And in 2002, after the worst wave of Palestinian terror attacks in Israel’s history, Prime Minister Sharon launched Operation Defensive Shield. The United States demanded that Israel withdraw its troops immediately, but Sharon continued until the operation was completed.

There’s a reason I mention all these. I mention them to make a point. Despite occasional disagreements, the friendship between America and Israel grew stronger and stronger, decade after decade.

And our friendship will weather the current disagreement, as well, to grow even stronger in the future.And I’ll tell you why; because we share the same dreams. Because we pray and hope and aspire for that same better world; because the values that unite us are much stronger than the differences that divide usvalues like liberty, equality, justice, tolerance,compassion.

As our region descends into medieval barbarism, Israel is the one that upholds these values common to us and to you.

As Assad drops bell bombs on his own people, Israeli doctors treat his victims in our hospitals right across the fence in the Golan Heights.

As Christians in the Middle East are beheaded and their ancient communities are decimated, Israel’s Christian community is growing and thriving, the only one such community in the Middle East.

As women in the region are repressed, enslaved, and raped, women in Israel serve as chief justices, CEOs, fighter pilots, two women chief justices in a row. Well, not in a row, but in succession. That’s pretty good.

In a dark, and savage, and desperate Middle East, Israel is a beacon of humanity, of light, and of hope.

Ladies and gentlemen, Israel and the United States will continue to stand together because America and Israel are more than friends. We’re like a family. We’re practically mishpocha.

Now, disagreements in the family are always uncomfortable, but we must always remember that we are family.

Rooted in a common heritage, upholding common values, sharing a common destiny. And that’s the message I came to tell you today. Our alliance is sound. Our friendship is strong. And with your efforts it will get even stronger in the years to come.

Thank you, AIPAC. Thank you, America. God bless you all.”

---

Obama Takes a Stand (Dry Bones)

Thanking Our Legislators

by Delta Vines

Tomorrow morning PM Netanyahu will address the U.S. Congress to make them aware of  just how much danger Israel, and other nations, are in should Iran be allowed to continue on in their aspirations of nuclear power/weapons.  As you know, some congressmen and women have said they will not attend.  If your congressperson is going to attend, it would be a very nice thing to contact them and thank them.  Sometimes we do not say "thank you" enough to our legislators.

For that matter, if you are a constituent of a member of Congress who has said they will not attend the prime minister's speech, it would be nice to thank them for their hard work as well.  All of our legislators work very hard to represent us.  If you would like them to attend the speech tomorrow morning, feel free to kindly request they reconsider attending.  Even if they do not attend, your kindness will leave a positive impression our legislators and their staff will appreciate.

However, if you would like to remind them how childish they are being in not attending the speech....it is ok by me!   (As long as you do so politely )

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